Out of the Blue
by degrassichick
Summary: Derek and Casey place a bet on who can get fifteen dates the fastest. It was Derek's idea, afterall...so why is he hating every guy Casey goes on a date with? [Dasey!]
1. The Bet

**AN: Hey everyone! Wow, I didn't expect to get that many reviews for _Let the Rain Fall_, thank you so much!**

**I've decided to actually give a whole LWD fan fiction a shot, so here it is! **

**Derek and Casey are (once again) in the eleventh grade and (same as last story) when the dividers change from -**♥**- to -¤-, it means that the POV has changed from Casey to Derek.**

**R&R and please, no flames!**

**Lotsa love, degrassichick**

**-**♥**-**

**Out of the Blue—Chapter 1**

**-**♥**-**

"Just face it, Case. I'm irresistible." Derek states towards me cockily.

I narrow my eyes at him, "You're not irresistible, you're egotistical."

"Is it wrong to actually like yourself?" Derek asks with mock concern.

I roll my eyes, "Whatever. Just because some blonde, ditzy, cheerleader found interest in you, it does _not_ mean that you're irresistible."

"Casey, Casey, Casey…I could get any girl with the snap of a finger and you know it."

I scoff, "Oh, _please_."

"Wanna bet?"

I eye him confusingly, "Huh?"

Derek gives me one of his ever-so-popular-yet-oh-so-annoying smirks, "Bet. I bet you that by the end of this week, I can have _at least_ ten girls crawling all over me."

I cross my arms over my chest as I get up from the kitchen table where we were both sitting, "You really think so?"

Derek nods, "In fact, let's make it fifteen."

_Fifteen?_

"What's in it for whoever wins?" I ask, placing my left hand on my hip.

Derek sighs, "If I don't get fifteen chicks-which I will, of course-by the end of the week, then I will personally pay out of my own pocket for you and Sam's next date including reservations at a restaurant."

I smile at the thought of that, "And if I lose?" I grimace at the thought of what he might come up with.

Derek rubs his chin, as if he is taking it into consideration before smirking towards me, "Next time that I bring a girl to the house for a date, you have to be our personal chef."

My jaw drops, "_What_?"

"That means, cooking us dinner and dessert and doing the dishes."

I narrow my eyes at him, "That's my punishment? Cooking you dinner?"

Derek nods, "Oh yeah, and I get to pick out who you go on your next date."

"What?"

"And trust me; it won't be with a hockey player."

"That's not fair. That means I get something else too for when I win."

Derek groans, "Fine, what?"

I bite my lip in thought before looking back up at him, "I get to pick _your_ next date."

Derek's eyes widen, "I am _not_ going out with Emily."

I roll my eyes and smile, "Are we on?" I ask, holding out my hand.

Just before he puts his hand into mine, he stops, "Wait, I'm raising the stakes."

_Not again!_

"What now?" I ask annoyingly.

"Let's double the bet." Derek says.

My eyes widen, "Then you're just now losing, there is _no way_ that you can get thirty girls in seven days."

Derek chuckles, "I mean, you're in on it too."

"Huh?"

"You have to try and get fifteen guys and I'll try and get fifteen girls."

I roll my eyes, "You are _not _serious."

Derek nods, "I am, actually." he then smirks slyly, "That is, if you're actually _up_ for the challenge."

_There is no way that I'm going to let him win this._

I smile and hold out my hand, "Fine, you're on."

We shake hands and agree to meet up the following Friday night to exchange results.

Just as he turns to leave, he pauses and spins back around to face me, "Oh, and one more thing."

_What now?_

"What?" I ask.

"We have to make sure that each of our dates meets each other, so my dates have to meet you and your dates have to meet me. So we'll know that we're not lying."

I roll my eyes, "Fine." I say, it was a better idea, actually. But also a bad idea, now I can't lie, I'll actually have to get fifteen dates; Derek retreats upstairs.

I overlap my arms on the counter and slam my head down on top of them.

What did I just get myself into?

**-**♥**-**

"Chillax, Case…finding fifteen guys won't be _that _hard." Emily tells me as we share a plate of fries at the mall.

I roll my eyes and take a sip out of my Pepsi, "I don't think I even _know_ fifteen guys here."

Emily laughs and then her eyes widen, as if suddenly coming up with an idea, "I've got it!" she exclaims (as you can see, my theory was right…she has an idea), "I'll set you up on blind dates!"

I spit out my Pepsi.

"No, no, no, no, _no_." I shake my head back and forth.

Emily gives me the "sympathy stare" and intertwines her fingers in front of her, "_Please_, Case?"

"Not a chance."

"C'mon, do you really have that little trust in me?"

I open my mouth to reply but she cuts me off, "Don't answer that."

I smirk, "I don't need you to set me up on blind dates."

"Why not? How much could it hurt? Besides, it's Saturday. I'm sure it won't be _insanely_ hard to get fifteen guys to go on dates with you by Friday afternoon."

"The guys have to be _interested_ in me, Em. Not thrown into being on a date with me."

Emily rolls her eyes, "Why are you so determined to beat Derek for this anyway? He has had like fifty girlfriends since he turned thirteen, probably even more than that!"

I eye her in shock, "You don't think I can do this, do you?"

Emily sighs, "It's not that you _can't _do it, it's just-"

I grab a French fry and pop it into my mouth, "Trust me, Em, I _will_ win this bet with Derek." I then grin evilly, "And when I do, he is going to be put on the _worst_ date of his life."

"Hottie at three o'clock." Emily says, grinning flirtatiously.

I look over to see where she is looking, a tall guy with sandy blonde hair and tan skin is standing by the pizza joint in the food court, I have to admit…he is pretty good looking.

"If you go over there right now and flirt with him, you may only have fourteen guys left to score with." Emily suggests.

I toss my hair back over my shoulder and stand up, smoothing down my shirt and running my tongue over my lips.

Dear God, what is happening to me?

"Go for it." Emily whispers, nudging my hip with her elbow.

I gulp and make my way towards him, as soon as I approach him, he smiles at me.

Let the games begin.

**-¤-**

"I've already won this bet _hands down_." I proclaim, kicking my feet up on our coffee table.

"What makes you so sure?" Edwin asks me, as he plops down beside me.

I eye him stupidly, "Ed, you don't even know what the bet _is_."

Edwin rolls his eyes, "Well you could _tell _me."

I explain the bet with Casey to him and he winds up laughing.

"What is so funny? That Casey is stupid for even agreeing to do it?"

Edwin shakes his head, "That you're underestimating Casey so much."

What is he on about?

"What do you _mean_ I'm underestimating her?" I ask seriously.

Edwin rolls his eyes, "Just because she's freakishly smart and a total klutz _doesn't _mean that she can't get a guy, she's pretty."

"Yeah," I scoff, "pretty _lame_."

Edwin shakes his head, "No, that _comeback_ was pretty lame."

I roll my eyes, "Casey is completely insane for trying to beat me on getting dates, I mean _come on_. I'm the master at scoring with chicks; she hasn't even had a boyfriend."

Edwin smirks, "Well I know _one_ guy who will agree to go out with her."

My ears perk up and my head shoots towards him, "Who?"

He grins, "Sam."

I scoff, "_Sammy_? _My_ Sam?"

"Yes, _your_ Sam." Edwin mocks me, "He's totally into Casey."

I guffaw, "Since when?"

"Since they played _Babe Raider_…maybe even before that."

"That's not true." I shoot back.

Just then, Lizzie comes into the room and plops down on the arm of the couch, beside Edwin, "What's not true?" she asks confusingly.

"None of your business." I reply bitterly.

She rolls her eyes at me and turns to my brother, "Edwin?"

"Derek doesn't think that Sam likes Casey."

Lizzie laughs, "Yes he does. He's even kissed her before."

_What!_

"When the hell did that happen?" I ask.

Edwin shrugs, "I don't remember. It was in the hall by the stairs like a year or two ago. Lizzie, Marti, and I saw it."

_I can't believe Sam kissed Casey! How could he do that! Wait, why do I even _care?

I regain my cool and scoff at them, "Just because he kissed her, it _doesn't _mean that he likes her."

Lizzie eyes me confusingly, "Why is it so important anyway?" she asks.

Edwin turns to her, "Derek placed a bet with Casey that he had a better chance of getting fifteen girls to go on dates with him before Friday then she did."

Lizzie eyes me as if I'm the most moronic person on the planet, "You guys placed bets on _dates_?"

I shrug, "Yeah, so?"

"Well I want in on it." She proclaims.

I laugh, "Sorry Lizzie, I doubt that you'll get fifteen dates by Friday."

She reaches across the couch and slugs me, "No stupid, I want to bet on who will _win_."

Ed turns to her, "Fine, I'll bet you all of my allowance for next month that _Casey_ will win."

"Ed!" I exclaim, "Why aren't you backing me up here?" I try to burn holes in the back of his head by staring at him, he doesn't even budge.

"Sorry, D." he tosses over his shoulder.

I roll my eyes and slump back against the couch as they continue with their bet.

"Fine." Lizzie declared, "Then I'll bet _my_ allowance from next month that _Derek _will win."

Well, at least _somebody_ believes in me.

"Thanks, Liz." I say.

Lizzie rolls her eyes, "I love Casey and all, but she's never even had a steady boyfriend before, so this could be a challenge for her. Derek can get ten girl's phone numbers in a day. There's no competition."

"You're just _so _sure that he's going to win this that you're going to bet against your _own_ sister?" Ed asks in shock.

Lizzie shrugs, "Guess so. So do we have a bet?"

Ed shakes her hand, "Deal. We'll meet in the game closet Friday night to exchange winnings."

"Deal." Lizzie says with a smile and then jogs upstairs.

"I can't believe you didn't go for me." I mumble.

Edwin rolls his eyes, "If Casey can defeat the 'master at scoring with chicks"-he uses air quotes to emphasize on his mocking me-"then she is seriously the champion."

I smirk towards him, "Trust me, Ed. There is _no_ way that Casey can get fifteen dates in less than a week. I have a shoebox _full_ of chick's numbers, all I have to do is call fifteen of them up, arrange dates, and _boom_, I win."

"Half the girls probably hate you by now from hearing from the other half about how lousy of a date you were."

My jaw drops, "Did you just _insult_ me, Edwin Venturi?"

He grins, "Why yes, yes I did."

"Trust me, I won't even have to lift a finger towards the dates until Monday, I have this bet in the bag."

Just then the door swings open and Casey appears with two shopping bags in her hand and a smile on her face.

"Back so soon?" I ask with a mock grin.

She simply smirks right back at me, "One down, fourteen to go."

Wait a minute, that doesn't mean that…

She grins, "_I _have a date tonight."

Edwin smirks towards me and then gives a thumbs up towards Casey, "Good going, Case."

She eyes him confusingly, "Uh…thanks Edwin." She says awkwardly before smiling towards me, "Better start emptying those pockets Derek, you'll need the money."

I smirk at her, "Well, I highly doubt that, Case." I say and think of the first thing that pops into my head, "I have two dates already tonight."

Why the hell did I just say that?

Her face falters before she narrows her eyes at me, "Whatever." She says and jogs upstairs.

Edwin eyes me as if I just grew a second head, "You don't have two dates tonight…you don't even have _one_ date tonight!"

I smirk, "She doesn't know that."

Edwin scoffs, "But she will."

I eye him confusingly, "How do you figure that?"

Edwin rolls his eyes, "Your dates have to _meet_ Casey."

Shit. I hadn't thought of that.

I turn to Edwin and smirk, "I've got a shoebox full of numbers, Ed…full of chicks who are just _waiting _for a date with me."

**-¤-**

**So…what'd you think so far? I'll have Chapter 2 up soon!**

**R&R and please, no flames!**

**Lotsa love, degrassichick**


	2. Bimbos and Bowling Alleys

**Hey everyone! Thank you so much for your reviews! You rock!**

**So, here's Chapter 2…hope you like!**

**R&R and please, no flames!**

**Lotsa love, degrassichick**

**-¤-**

**Out of the Blue—Chapter 2**

**-¤-**

Okay, my shoebox full of numbers is about as helpful as a fork is when you're eating soup.

A fourth of the girl's numbers in my _excellent_ shoebox have moved, another fourth have boyfriends (and in some cases, girlfriends), another fourth have refused to go out with me due to what other girls have said about me (damn Edwin for being right), and the other fourth…well, the other fourth I'm scared to even call.

I tear through my box until I get to the very bottom, where five slips of paper lay.

I lift up the first one, her name is Ronnie…she dots her i's with skulls…_NEXT._

I pick up the pink slip of paper beside Ronnie's number, her name is Sue.

She seems decent!

I pick up my cell phone and punch in her numbers, listening to the ringing.

"Hello?" a female voice answers as soon as she picks up the phone.

"Hi…is this Sue?" I ask cautiously.

"Yeah, who is this?"

I grin, she sounds hot.

"This is Derek Venturi. So hey, if you're not busy tonight, I was just-"

_Click._

I stare at the phone in shock.

A girl hung up on me.

Well aren't _we _rude?

Just then, a shadowy figure appears at my door frame.

I glance up and see Casey standing against the door, smirking at me.

"Can I help you?" I ask boredly.

Casey rolls her eyes, "Just wondering when your first date is going to get here, I'd really hate to miss her."

I roll my eyes right back at her, "You can't miss her anyway," I mumble, "we have to meet each other's dates."

Casey smiles, "That's right. Well, I'll be looking forward to meeting her." She says and then lets out a small laugh and walks out of my room.

She's on to me. I know she is. She's just waiting for the moment to point out that she is faster at getting a date then I am.

No sweat, I'll just go to the mall.

I'm _sure_ there are two desperate girls there just _waiting _for a date with the master.

-**♥-**

I can't even _imagine_ what Derek's dates will look like.

They'll probably be as thin as a rail, have _way_ too much makeup on, and be completely empty headed.

Can't he _ever_ get at least a decent girl? I mean, come on. Who would even find those types of girls interesting? All they would talk about would be makeup and shoe shopping and what the hottest color of nail polish is and if Orlando Bloom should stick with his British accent or his English accent.

I honestly would not be able to _take it_.

At least Brian, my date, is remotely interesting. He's interning at an art gallery, I mean that's _remotely _interesting at least!

"Where are you going, Smerek?" I hear Marti calling from outside the hallway.

"The mall." I hear Derek's muffled reply; I can tell that he's at the front door.

I hear Edwin laughing, "Couldn't get a date, could you?"

My jaw drops.

I _knew_ he was lying!

"Don't rub it in." Derek snaps back before I hear the door slam shut.

I let out a scoff as I return to my laptop, typing up an email to Emily.

Can Derek just not handle losing to me? I mean, come on. He can't be the best at _everything_, now can he?

I think not.

**-¤-**

I glance around the main corridors of the mall, glancing around at any girls that look available.

Of course, they're all either with their family or with their boyfriends.

After glancing around for what feels like hours (although it was only, I dunno, ten minutes), I see a girl with red hair sitting by the fountain.

Haha, I've got you now.

I pop up my collar and put on a grin, striding towards her.

She looks up from the magazine she's reading as I approach her, she grins, "_Hi_."

"Hey, I'm Derek." I say with a smirk.

She drops her magazine and holds out her hand, "I'm Claire."

"How old are you?" I ask.

"Sixteen, you?"

"Just turned seventeen."

She smiles goofily and I sit down beside her, having a "casual conversation" to lead up to the big question.

"So listen…" I say coolly, after fifteen minutes of conversation (mostly just her talking--alot), "do you have any plans tonight?"

She giggles and shakes her head, "No! I don't! Why? Do you want to have plans, because I am _totally_ up for having plans! I _love _plans, do you want to go ice skating? To the movies, pizza, coffee, rock climbing? Oh, this is going to be so much fun!"

What is _wrong _with her?

I eye her confusingly, "Bowling?" I suggest.

She claps her hands. Seriously, she _claps_, "I love, love, _love_ bowling! Can we go right now?"

I grin, "Sure…just have to stop by my house real quick."

In your face, Casey.

**-♥-**

I'm sitting in the kitchen, eating a cherry yogurt whip when I hear the front door open and a female giggle.

Oh my God, he seriously got a date.

That cheater.

"Anybody home?" his vexatious voice sings out.

I roll my eyes, of course he knows somebody's home.

I sit down my yogurt cup and my spoon before making my way towards our living room, where Derek stands with a petite girl with red hair.

"Hey Case, just thought I would let you meet my _date_, Claire. Claire, this is Casey, my-"

Claire's jaw suddenly drops and she smacks Derek's arm.

Smacks him! I think I might like this girl.

"What was _that _for!" Derek exclaims.

"You're already cheating on me? I'm not into cheaters, Derek!"

Derek laughs, "Oh my God, no. This is my stepsister, Casey."

_"Oh my God, no?"__What kind of an answer is that?_

Claire narrows her eyes at me, "Don't get any ideas. Dare Bear, where's the bathroom?"

Derek jerks his head towards the stairs, "Upstairs."

She grins and pecks his cheek before giving me a rude glare and flouncing up the stairs.

I scoff, "Wow, _Dare-Bear_. You truly picked a winner. Can't wait to see your next date."

Derek's face suddenly paled.

Ha! He didn't remember that he needed _two_ dates.

I have this bet in the bag.

**-¤-**

How could I forget that I need _two_ dates tonight? I'm such a moron.

Hopefully I can just pick up some chick at the bowling alley. Claire's dumb, she won't notice.

I can't believe she thought Casey was my girlfriend, that's disgusting. And then she smacked me for it. _Smacked _me! And Casey _smirked._

I look over towards Casey; she's already dressed for her date.

I have to admit, she looks nice.

She's wearing a black, lacy tunic that falls to her thighs with a pair of jeans, black flats, and a red shrug on over her top. Her hair is cascading down to her chest bone and she's actually _wearing_ make-up.

Casey hardly _ever_ wears make-up.

It actually doesn't look to bad on her, though.

Okay, what am I saying?

Just then, the doorbell rings.

Casey smirks, "That must be Brian." She says and brushes past me, making her way towards the door.

"Hey Brian!" she says happily as she lets him inside.

I look at the guy.

He's tall with blonde hair, he looks like he just got imported from California, I wouldn't be shocked if he said words like 'tubular' and 'dude'.

Okay, I think it's safe to say that I've watched _Fast Times at Ridgemont High _too many times.

Casey gives me a snide look, "Derek, this is Brian. Brian, this is my stepbrother, Derek."

Brian nods at me, "Sup?"

_Sup?_

I give him a tight smirk.

Casey couldn't have _picked _a bigger loser.

"Okay, Derek! I'm ready to go!" Claire sings out, hurrying down the stairs and clinging her arm to me.

She turns to Casey and Brian and her jaw drops.

"What's wrong?" I ask confusingly.

"Brian? What are you doing here?" she asks with excitement in her voice.

Oh my God, they know each other.

Brian's eyes widen, "_Claire_?" a smile widens on his face.

She claps her hands together, "It's sogood to see you! I'm about to go on a date with Derek, we're going bowling, and like O.M.G. it's going to be like _so fun_!"

I've never heard somebody actually use the abbreviation for 'oh my God' in a sentence, even worse, I can't believe they actually _know _each other.

Brian grins, "That sounds great! Casey, do you want to go bowling?"

Casey's smile falters, "What?"

Claire nods, "It'll be so much _fun_! C'mon Cassie, you have to come!"

I stifle a laugh, _Cassie_.

Casey eyes her stupidly, "Um, first, my name is _Casey _not Cassie, and second, I'm not really into bowling."

Brian nudges her, "C'mon Case, it'll be fun."

Should he really be calling her Case? He hardly even knows her!

Claire turns to me, "What do you think, Derek? Want to go bowling with Casey and Brian?"

That's when it actually hits me.

She wants us to double date with Casey and Brian.

_No way._

If I have to _bowl_ with Casey, there is no way I'll get off the hook and be able to get another date.

I shake my head, "Nah, probably shouldn't. I mean, you know, Casey and Brian have their own-"

"I don't mind." Brian cuts me off.

Of course he doesn't. Why would he? That'd just be _far_ too easy.

Casey rolls her eyes, "_I _do."

Claire scoffs, "Well _I _don't."

"It'll be fun, c'mon Case Face." Brian mumbles towards her.

Okay, what _is it_ with these people and stupid nicknames? Claire calls me Dare Bear, Brian calls her _Case Face_. Could they _get _anymore unoriginal?

Casey's lips turn in disgust as she looks from Claire, to me, to Brian.

She agrees to go bowling.

_Crap._

**-♥-**

Why did I agree to do this?

The four of us get situated in our seats in the bowling alley, slipping on our shoes.

"Let's play teams!" Claire squeals.

Brian grins, "Awesome idea, Claire!" he gives her a high five.

I glance over at Derek, who is shaking his head and resting his forehead in his palm.

"I'll bowl with my Dairy Farm and you can bowl with Casey!" Claire squeals.

I hold back a laugh, _dairy farm?_

I grimace towards her, "Tell me, Claire, where _do_ you get your original nickname ideas?"

She narrows her eyes at me, "None of your business."

Something is seriously wrong with her.

"Case, you're up." Brian tells me.

"Same with you, Derek!" Claire calls out.

I get up and pick up the bowling ball, making my way towards the lane and glancing over at Derek, "My, you and Claire have great chemistry."I say sarcastically.

Derek scoffs, "At least she actually shows interest in me. All your date seems to care about is my date."

I narrow my eyes and launch my ball down the alley.

It makes it to mid-lane when it sinks to the gutter.

Claire's cackling in the background.

How can Derek even put up with her?

Derek launches his ball right after mine and gets a perfect strike.

Of course he does. Why wouldn't he?

Brian shrugs towards me, wrapping his arms around me and kissing my cheek, "Good try."

Could he _be _any sweeter?

**-¤-**

Could Brian _be_ any more sickening?

He will _not _get his hands off of her.

I lean back against my seat and watch as Claire and Brian pair off against each other while bowling.

I look over at Casey and smirk, "So how are you enjoying your date?"

Casey grins, "Perfectly. How are you and Claire?" she smirks.

"_Great_…just _great_." I say tightly and sarcastically.

Horrible, _beyond _horrible. Never, have I been on a first date with somebody as _overprotective_ as her, and we barely even know each other!

Casey laughs, "I can see that. You _really_ picked a winner."

I clench my teeth into a grin as I give Claire a thumbs up for knocking one pin down, "I know…didn't I?"

Shut up, I already know I didn't.

**-¤-**

**So what'd you think?**

**R&R and please, no flames!**

**Lotsa love, degrassichick**


	3. Wait, what?

**AN: Hey all! Thanks so much for the awesome reviews, here's Chapter 3…hope you like!**

**R&R and please, no flames!**

**Lotsa love, degrassichick**

**-¤-**

**Chapter 3**

**-¤-**

You know, this could be a movie.

_The Never-Ending Date from Hell_ starring Derek Venturi…wow, it'd rank in _millions_.

"I have to go to the bathroom." Casey finally declares after two torturous hours of bowling.

Brian smiles smugly at her, "Go right ahead, baby."

_Baby? Did he just call her 'baby'?_

Casey smiles and heads a set of steps, passes the concession area, and disappears around the corner that leads to the bathrooms.

That's my cue to find date number two.

I glance down at my watch and widen my eyes dramatically, looking towards Claire and Brian, "Wow, its eight-thirty…I promised by younger sister that I'd call her before she went to bed…so I better get to that."

Okay, well that's a total lie, Dad, Nora, and Marti went to visit my grandparents for the weekend, and Lizzie and Edwin are both sleeping over at friend's houses…but Claire doesn't need to know that.

Claire rolls her eyes, "Fine, whatevs."

I eye her curiously before hopping out of my seat and jogging up the steps as well, going in the opposite direction that Casey went.

Once again, everybody's paired up.

This really blows. Last time everyone was paired up, I got stuck with Claire: psycho-cheerleader extraordinaire

I finally spot a girl with long black hair, her left profile is facing me and she has a smile on her face as she's laughing with some friends, a green trucker hat on her head.

From what I can see, she is normal.

Thank God.

I put on my "game face" (or classic smirk, whichever you prefer) and make my way towards her, "Hey." I say coolly.

The girl turns towards me and smiles, "Hey yourself." She says with a smile, I notice a slight Southern twang in her voice.

"I'm Derek, Derek Venturi." I say, holding out my hand.

"Gina Gray." She replies with a smile, shaking my hand.

I smile, "You from around here?"

She shakes her head, "Nah; I'm from the states…Austin, Texas, to be exact."

A foreigner, sweet…now there's no way she can hate me, she has no idea who I am!

"What brings you here?"

She jerks her thumb towards the back arcade, "My cousin, Lisa."

_Lisa? Where have I heard that name before?_

Just then, a girl with long blonde hair comes up towards Gina and me.

Shit, it's Lisa Gray.

I should have known.

She's hated me ever since I bailed out on our date to the tenth grade semi formal.

Her eyes narrow as soon as she sees me, "Gi, why are you hanging out with _Derek Venturi_?" she spits out my name like I'm some unidentified bug.

"He just introduced himself." Gina says with a smile.

Lisa frowns in return and scolds towards me, "Derek's a pig, he's a total jackass, and you should _not _be talking to him."

I roll my eyes, "And you should _not_ be talking about him when he's standing _two feet away from you_." I snap back.

Lisa scoffs and latches onto Gina's arm, "C'mon, we're leaving." She then turns to me, "Stay away, Derek, she's only thirteen." And with that she and Gina stalk out the doors of the bowling alley.

Oh my God, I almost dated a thirteen-year-old. Well, a very tall and developed thirteen-year-old, but a thirteen-year-old nonetheless.

"Hey…" a voice purrs from behind me.

I spin around and am faced with a girl with short blonde hair and sparkling green eyes.

I grin back at her and introduce myself.

Casey: 1; Me: 2

**-♥-**

"Bye, Dare Bear!" Claire coos as Derek practicallyhurlshimself outof the backseatas soon as Brian's car hits the pavement of our driveway.

I smile over at Brian from where the two of us are sitting in the front seat, "I had fun tonight, Brian." I say softly.

Brian smiles, "Me too, Case."

I grin and just as we lean into kiss, Claire's whiny voice cuts us off, "Bri-_an_, I want to go home. So can you like, cut the mushy crap out for later?"

Brian chuckles, "Can I call you sometime?" he asks as we break apart.

I nod, "Sure." And with that I kiss his cheek and get out of the car, shutting the door behind me.

Brian honks as he slowly pulls out of the driveway, I watch as his car disappears down the street.

I let out a sigh and step into the house, watching Derek throw himself down on the couch.

"Fun night?" I ask with a laugh, sitting down on the arm of the couch.

Derek grins cockily, sitting up, "Just getting started. Tiffanie should be getting here in like twenty minutes."

_Tiffanie, his _other_ date._

"Oh…" I say, "Where are you two going?"

"Movies." He replies simply before getting up from the couch, "Better go change, I probably smell like cigarette smoke knowing our bowling alley." He says as he begins to jog up the stairs.

I roll my eyes and sink back against the couch before getting up as well and hurrying upstairs to change into a more comfortable outfit, also known as: pajamas.

I swap my date clothes for a pair of yellow pajama pants with monkeys on them and a white wife beater before pulling my hair back into a ponytail and ridding my face of any makeup.

As I'm standing in the bathroom, dropping a cleansing cloth into the trash can, there's a knock at the door.

"Case, I need to use the bathroom!" Derek calls out.

I roll my eyes and swing open the door, "God, Derek, why are you always so impatie-"

I cut myself off mid-sentence.  
Derek is standing in front of me with his shirt off…and surprisingly, he doesn't look half bad.

Correction: he looks _hot_.

Wait, _what_?

I did not just say that my stepbrother looked hot; I did _not _just say that.

Derek rolls his eyes, "Can I get in there?"

Crap, I'm gawking.

I nod and utter out a reply before hurrying out of the bathroom and downstairs into the living room, flopping down onto the couch and slamming my head against the pillows.

I grab the remote and turn on the television, going to a movie that I had recorded on TiVo and pressing _play_.

Just then, the doorbell rings.

I roll my eyes and press_ pause_; _just_ as I'm getting comfortable…the comfort is ended.

Rolling off of the couch, I make my way towards the front door and swing it open.

Standing on our porch is a girl with short blonde hair and she is wearing a black tube top and a pair of jeans with black platform flip flops.

"I'm going to take a wild guess that you're Tiffanie?" I ask.

The girl grins and nods, "How did you know?"

I smile sarcastically, "Just a lucky guess." I say and hold the door open for her so that she can step in.

"Hot pad." She says with approval, glancing around our house.

_Hot pad? She sounds like she's requesting an ACE bandage._

I shrug confusingly, "Uh…thanks, I think."

"Tiff!" Derek's voice calls out.

I glance up and see him jogging down the stairs, now changed into a pair of jeans with a blue button down shirt and a smile on his face, his hair tousled.

I roll my eyes, "Don't stay out too late." I croon as the pair step outside.

Derek rolls his eyes right back at me, "Oh, you know we will." He says as he grabs his black leather jacket.

Tiffanie smiles at me, "Nice meeting you…um…"

"Casey." I reply, "I'm Casey."

"Right, Casey. Bye now!" she squeals and hurries off.

Derek gives me a cocky grin and a playful wink before following after Tiffanie.

I kick the door shut behind them and return to my movie.

_Finally_, some alone time.

**-¤-**

"And then the way he just blew her head off like that, _ha!_ It was classic." Tiffanie laughs as the two of us step out of the theater.

I eye her confusingly; _never_ have I seen a girl this pumped up about a horror movie.

"So you liked it…I guess?"

"Nah." Tiffanie disagrees, popping a popcorn kernel into her mouth and throwing the halfway full bucket into the trash, "Horror movies are _lame_…lamer than lame, actually."

_Huh?_

"But the way you were just talk-"

"Derk, I thought it was _funny_. That's how most horror flicks are now days, funny."

_Who the hell is Derk?_

"Uh…my name is Derek." I say awkwardly.

Tiffanie rolls her eyes, "That's what I said, you moron."

I chip in, "You said Der…" I cut myself off, shaking my head, "Never mind, not worth it."

"I think we should double date." Tiffanie says as we walk out of the theater and back into the mall.

I eye her confusingly, "Double date with who?"

"Your sister."

_Casey? She wants to go on a double date with Casey?_

"What do you mean?"

Tiffanie scoffs, "_Duh_ Derek, my brother is totally available. We'll double date say…tomorrow afternoon. I'll just call up Chuck real quick." And with that she turns away and whips out her cell phone.

I sink myself down onto a bench; I highly doubt that I can do _another_ double date with Casey in one weekend.

Tiffanie reappears a few minutes later, I stand back up, "Chuck says he's up for it. Tomorrow we're going to go the Broadway Billiards around noon, aight?"

"Uh…" I say sheepishly, time to sweet talk my way out of this, "I don't think I can make it, you see-"

Tiffanie's jaw drops, "No, you _have_ to go!" she exclaims.

I roll my eyes, "Why do I _have_ to go?"

"Chucky is looking forward to this, he usually winds up scaring girls more than dating them, so I figured I would just set him up with someone, and your sister seems _really_ nice."

_That's like cheating; I can't set her up on a date until the end of this whole thing, when I win the bet._

"Casey doesn't like being set up…" I say cautiously.

"Derek, this is Chuck we're talking about; he's already planning on getting the date, so he's _getting_ the damned date!" her voice growls.

I back up against the bench.

This girl has problems.

"Well, you see-"

"No, Derek! No 'well, you see'! Chuck is going to go on a date with Caitlin and-"

"Her name's Casey." I cut her off. What is it with my dates and getting Casey's name wrong?

Tiffanie's face pales and she shakes her head, "No, her name is Caitlin."

I shake my head, "Nope, I'm _pretty_ sure it's Casey."

"_No, _Derek, it's Caitlin."

"She's my stepsister, I should know."

"My brother can't date a Casey." Tiffanie states warily.

I let out a groan, "And why can't he date a Casey?" I ask boredly.

"Casey's are usually scary and mean."

I shrug, "So? Casey isn't."

Tiffanie scoffs as she crosses her arms over her chest, "Yeah, sure Derek. How would you know that?"

How short _is _her attention span?

"She's my _stepsister_, the only time she's scary is when she's wearing a facial mask sometimes."

It actually looks pretty cute.

Wait, _what_?

Did I just call Casey _cute_?

No, I couldn't have. I didn't, I know I didn't.

I run a hand through my hair and eye Tiffanie as she contemplates whether or not the date can go on.

"Its fine, I guess." Tiffanie finally decides.

My face lights up, "You mean, the date is off?"

Tiffanie rolls her eyes, "Of course not, Derek! Chuck is getting a date."

And whatever Chuck wants, Chuck gets.

Hey, wait a minute! That's me!

I sigh, "I thought he couldn't go on a date with a Casey?" I mock her, although she doesn't catch on.

Tiffanie smirks, "Which is why we tell him that her name is Caitlin, your sister will go through with it, right?"

"Go through a whole afternoon being called a different name, highly doubt it."

"But _Derek_!" Tiffanie whines, "She _has _to!"

This girl has issues; major, major issues.

I let out a frustrated sigh, "I'm just not sure that Casey will go-"

Tiffanie cuts me off, slowly sashaying towards me and linking her arms around my neck, placing a soft kiss on the nape of my neck.

Well…that feels good.

"_Pretty please_, Derek?" she purrs in my ear.

I let out a sigh as Tiffanie breaks away from me and gives me an innocent smile.

Yeah, she's real innocent. Just like Hitler.

I take one more look in her green eyes and agree.

Casey's going to hate me for this. If Tiffanie is _this_ bad, I can't even imagine what her brother will be like.

Wait…why do I even care?

**-♥-**

Derek comes into the house almost three hours later, Tiffanie right behind him.

Oh, how sweet of him, bringing a girl home to his _bedroom_. How classy of him.

"Hi Caitlin!" Tiffanie exclaims, waving at me.

"It's Casey." I correct her.

Derek shakes his head, "Nope, its Caitlin."

"Huh?"

Tiffanie smiles over at Derek, "You can tell her, Derek. Chucky and I will be over here around noon tomorrow, see ya then!" and with that, she turns on her heel and disappears outside the house, closing the door behind her.

I laugh, "So this is your theory for beating me, going on a date with a girl _and_ a guy at the same time?"

Derek mocks my laughing, "No. We're doubling."

"Oh, who'd be stupid enough to go on a double date with you? Trust me, I went tonight."

Derek rolls his eyes, "Well you're going on another one tomorrow."

My smile falters, "_What_?"

"Congratulations." Derek says, dropping his leather jacket to the floor, "I go on a date with a girl and wind up getting _you_ a date."

Wait…_what_?

**-♥-**

**So, what'd you think?**

**Hope you liked!**

**R&R and please, no flames!**

**Lotsa love, degrassichick**


	4. Bad Dates Never End

**Thanks so much for the reviews! You guys are awesome!**

**Here's Chapter 4...hope you like! **

**R&R and please, no flames!**

**Lotsa love, degrassichick :-)**

**-**♥-

**Chapter 4**

**-**♥**-**

"Wait a minute…" I say warily, "you set me up on a date?"

Derek smirks, "Yep, with good ol' Chuck."

"Who's Chuck?" I ask.

Derek shrugs, "Tiffanie's more-than-likely mentally-deranged brother who scares girls more than dates them."

My jaw drops, "Why did you set me up on a date?"

Derek runs a hand through his hair, "Trust me, if I had the choice, I _wouldn't_ have picked you to be the double date candidate, but Tiffanie wanted you to go on a date with her brother and I wasn't about to argue."

I roll my eyes, "How typical of you. A girl purrs in your ear and you fall all over her! You're sick." And with that I turn on my heel and stalk out of the living room.

"So you'll go right?" Derek calls up the stairs as I enter my bedroom.

I respond with slamming my door shut.

That insensitive creep, how could he! I'm not sure why I'm complaining, I mean, it does give me another date after all, but _ugh_!

I have to go on another double date with _him_ and watch while his flavor of the afternoon crawls all over him and scolds me. Why does he always pick the sluts? Does he have _any_ respect for women…at all?

Don't answer that.

**-¤-**

Casey didn't leave her room for the rest of the night, so I had to wait until the next morning to once again make my proposal.

"So you'll go right?" I ask impatiently as she sits on the kitchen counter, eating a plate of scrambled eggs and sausage.

Casey rolls her eyes and sits her plate down beside her before hopping off the counter and walking out of the kitchen.

"Is that a yes?" I ask, following her into the living room.

"No!" Casey practically shouts, turning around to face me.

"I'm sure Chucky isn't _that_ bad!" My God, I just referred to him as Chucky.

She rolls her eyes; "You know what I think of when I think of the name 'Chucky'?" she asks, crossing her arms over her chest.

"The ugly red head from the Rugrats?" I ask sheepishly.

Casey narrows her eyes at me and shakes her head, "No, the possessed doll from those horror movies."

"I'm sure he's not a murderer, Case…" I hope not at least, you never know. Tiffanie may be from some really destructive home; I mean, she_ was_ kind of violent towards me.

Casey rolls her eyes and walks off down the hallway, her hips swaying from side to side. My eyes drift down towards them before jolting back up.

What am I _doing_?

"C'mon, you have to come, Case."

"Sorry, Derek, I don't think I do." She shoots back, making her way up the stairs.

I jog after her, "Won't you have fun at Broadway Billiards?" I ask as she enters her room.

She turns to look at me, "Billiards? Your date is at Broadway Billiards?"

I nod, "So, you'll get to have a great time with Chucky while also playing Skee-Ball."

Casey rolls her eyes, "Sorry, Derek. Not interested." She tries to slam the door in my face but I grip the side of the door to keep it open.

"What are you doing?" she asks confusingly.

"Will you please go on this date with me?" I plead.

Wait a minute…that did _not_ come out right.

Casey raises an eyebrow towards me.

"I mean, with me and Tiffanie and Chuck, y-your date."

Casey rolls her eyes, "If it'll get you to shut up, fine."

I grin at her cockily, "I knew you would agree."

I release my grip from her door.

She replies by slamming it in my face.

**-**♥**-**

I come down stairs fifteen minutes until noon, dressed in a plain pink tee shirt and a pair of flared jeans with white tennis shoes on, my brown hair pulled back into a braid.

"Not too dressed up, now are you Case?" Derek asks, leaning against the back of the couch, his arms crossed over his chest and his hair tousled.

He can even make messy hair look good.

Okay, I _really_ need to stop thinking like that.

"You're lucky I even agreed to go on this date." I shoot back.

Derek's eyes roll, "And for that I am thankful."

"Yeah, I bet you are."

Derek laughs, "No really, you have _no_ idea what Tiffanie is like. My date last night scared the-"

He gets cut off by the doorbell ringing.

"I'll get it." He proclaims, pushing himself away from the couch and making his way towards the door.

Alright, let's see Chuck.

**-¤-**

Alright, let's see Chuck.

I pull open the door and am face to face with Tiffanie and a large guy with black, spiky hair and a goatee.

I hold back a chuckle and glance back at Casey, whose face is turning _very_ white.

"Hey Derk." Tiffanie says, pecking me on the cheek.

_Derek. My name is Derek. Why is that so hard to understand? Why?_

"This is my bro, Chucky. Chucky, this is Caitlin." Tiffanie says, pointing towards Casey, who is leaning against the wall that divides the foyer from the living room, her eyes wide.

Chuck makes his way towards Casey and pulls her into a hug, lifting her off the ground, "It's so nice to meet you!" his gruff voice squeals.

That's a _very_ interesting combination, I have to say.

"Same here." Casey chokes out as he sits her back on the ground.

"Well, let's get out of here." Tiffanie says and latches onto my hand, hauling us out of the house, Casey and Chuck close behind.

**-**♥**-**

"You have really pretty hair." Chuck murmurs towards me as we sit in the backseat of Tiffanie's Jeep Cherokee.

"Uh…thanks." I say uncomfortably.

"I just wanna run my hands through it and smell it." He says, and lets it loose from its ponytail, dropping the ponytail to the floor.

_Hey now!_

Derek turns around to face us and winks at me sarcastically.

Chuck places his hand on my thigh and leans in closer, making me scoot down to the very edge of the seat, my whole body crammed against the window.

Derek glances back again and sees where Chuck's hand is placed, his jaw clenches.

"Chuck, do you think you could maybe get her a bit of breathing room?" he asks annoyingly.

Chuck pushes himself off of me and leans towards Derek, "You calling me fat?"

Derek rolls his eyes, "No, I'm calling you suffocating. There's a whole backseat back there, you don't have to practically sit on her lap."

"What's it to you, punk?" Chuck seethes.

I push him back, "Its okay, Chuck." I say.

Chuck sighs and puts his arm around my shoulders, "It's alright, I just overreacted."

"See? Isn't this great? Just the four of us together?" Tiffanie asks with a dazed smile from the driver's seat.

She thinks the four of us together are great?

What is _wrong _with her?

**-¤-**

I'm about three points away from hurling a Skee-Ball at Chuck's head.

He will _not _leave Casey alone!

Like right now, for instance, he has his arm around her waist and I'm pretty sure it's going lower than that.

"Chuck…could you um…" Casey squirms under his hold.

"Get off of her." I finish.

Alright, something has to be wrong with me.

"Derk, don't bother their date." Tiffanie scolds me, punching my shoulder.

I roll my eyes and turn back to the machine, tossing my ball up. It rolls up the ramp and lands in the ten-point ring.

"Is that the best you got?" Tiffanie asks cockily, "I could beat that in a second."

Dear God, she's the female version of me. Only, I think I'm more appealing.

"Yeah," I sigh, "most people could. It's the ten-pointer; you can go all the way up to one hundred."

Tiffanie rolls her eyes, "Give me the damn ball and let me play!" she exclaims.

Whoa…schizophrenia much?

I hand her the ball and back away; for all I know, she could have a gun in her hoodie, just waiting to be whipped out at me if I beat her in air hockey.

"Derek, can I uh… talk to you for a second?" Casey asks nervously, as Chuck gazes into her eyes in one of those obsessed-stalker ways where he looks like he's just picturing her naked.

Great, now _I'm_ picturing her naked.

_Pretty hot if I do say so my--bad, Derek. Bad, bad, bad!_

"Yeah." I reply.

You couldn't get me away from Tiffanie fast enough.

Casey leads me towards the bathrooms at the very back of the billiards.

"Okay, I don't know about you, but this is the _worst_ date of my life." She sighs, running a hand through her long hair.

I smirk, "This is coming from the experience of what, three dates total?"

Casey narrows her eyes at me, "Shut up." She then lowers her voice, "Have you _seen _this guy? He's psychotic!"

I roll my eyes, "You think _he's_ psychotic? Have you even _met_ my date?"

Casey rolls her eyes, "Then can't we just ditch them or something?"

_Tempting, but no. You can't let Casey beat you in this, Derek; for all you know, it's all part of her diabolical plan to force you on a date with her overly-obsessed best friend.  
_"Sorry Case, no can do. You might just have to suck it up."

Casey crosses her arms over her chest and scolds me, "Derek, incase you haven't noticed, he's already telling me about great places to have a wedding reception! Be expecting your invitation from him for our wedding in Jamaica any day now!" her face tenses up.

Man, she is really cute when she gets angry.

Okay, what the _hell_ is wrong with me?

-♥-

Derek is so cruel.

He's is keeping me here with chummy Chuck, who is, by the way, driving me up the wall.

"So…" he says, fluffing his hand through my hair as I squirm away, "how do you feel about commitment?"

_Note to self: KILL DEREK._

"Uh…I've made a strong commitment to my…religion."

"Oh, like going to church weekly? That's cool." Chuck says.

I shake my head, "Well, I'm training to become a nun, and you see…well, we kind of get married to God and not to-"

"What the hell do you mean we're not getting married?" he shouts out before I can even finish my pathetic excuse for a lie.

His voice booms so loudly that I almost fall off the bench that the two of us are sitting on.

Derek and Tiffanie hurry over, Tiffanie's head shoots right towards me, "What did you say to him, slut?"

"Whoa, what did you call her?" Derek asks, stepping up beside her.

"She's not gonna marry me, Tiff. She's becoming a nanny!"

"A nun…" I correct him.

Derek eyes me confusingly before he starts chuckling.

Tiffanie whips her head towards him, "This isn't funny, Derk! Your heartbreaker-of-a-sister over there just broke my Chucky's heart! And you're _laughing_."

Derek opens his mouth to object…or agree, "Well I-"

"That's it." Tiffanie cuts him off, holding her hands in the air, "Chuck and I can't deal with you two. We're out of here. C'mon, Chuck." Tiffanie orders and latches onto his arm, hauling him away.

Chuck turns back to look at me, "I take back my proposal! I take it back!" he shouts before they leave completely.

Derek plops down beside me and runs a hand through his hair, tilting his head back.

I turn to look at him, "Weirdest date you've ever been on?" I ask in reference.

Derek shakes his head, "No, but it definitely makes top five."

I let out a laugh before I see a _very_ cute guy working at the prize counter, smiling down at some nine-year-old girl.

I put on a smile and stand up.

Derek eyes me confusingly, "Where are you going?"

I smirk towards him, "I only have five days left and I still have thirteen guys to date." And with that I turn and walk towards the guy.

He looks up and smiles at me, "What can I get you?" he asks, "Don't see any tickets."

I let out a laugh, "Guilty as charged, I was planning on robbing the toy counter…that's a nice stock of whoopee cushions you've got there." I say jokingly.

Oh my God, I'm lame. So, so, so lame!

He chuckles, "Only the best at Broadway Billiards: making your dreams of being the next Ashton Kutcher come true."

I grin and hold out my hand, "I'm Casey."

"Brian." He replies, shaking my hand and smiling, "That was a pretty bad confrontation you had back there."

I wince, "Yeah…not one of my best moments."

Brian laughs, "Well can I make it up to you?"

"And how could you possibly do that?" I laugh.

"By asking you out for pizza and a movie tonight."

"I think that would _definitely_ make up for it." I grin.

-**¤-**

Unbelievable.

On the worst date of her life, she snatches up another date within five minutes.

How did she _do_ that?

She's been at that stupid billiards place all day, just waiting for the guy to get off of his shift.

I had to take the bus home all by myself.

I almost got a date, actually. It would have worked out between us…well, had she not been sixty-two and called me 'sweet cheeks'…that kinda killed the mood.

"Will you quit staring at the door?" Edwin asks.

I snap my head towards him, "What?"

"You've been staring at the door for the past hour…it hasn't changed, trust me."

I glance at the clock, "Its ten-thirty…shouldn't Casey be home by now?"

Edwin laughs, "Oh my God, you're on Casey watch."

Lizzie approaches the living room, a sandwich in her hand, "He's waiting for Casey?" she laughs, plopping down on the couch beside Edwin.

Edwin nods, "She'll be home in an hour, Derek. Why are you freaking out about it?" he asks, grabbing Lizzie's sandwich and taking a bite out of it.

She slugs him and snags it back.

"She could have called." I mutter under my breath.

"She did." Lizzie replies, "She called Mom during dinner and said 'Don't wait up, I'll be home around eleven'. And she told you that when you called her twenty minutes ago."

I roll my eyes, "It's been more than twenty minutes, Lizzie."

Edwin eyes the clock, "Actually, that was only seven minutes ago that you called her." He takes back the sandwich and bites into it.

Lizzie rolls her eyes and flops back against the couch.

"So I'm overprotective. Sue me."

"You're way to overprotective." Edwin says, "It's almost like you're a jealous ex-lover of hers or something."

Lizzie laughs, "Yeah, it's like you have a crush on her!"

"That's incest, Liz." Edwin sneers towards her.

She scoffs, "_Hardly_, Edwin. We're all stepsiblings. I mean, I could kiss you right now and it wouldn't be wrong."

Edwin jumps up from the couch, dropping the sandwich on the coffee table, "Don't."

Lizzie grins and stands up from the couch, "Why Ed, scared to be kissed?"

Edwin shakes his head, "Just don't do it, Lizzie."

I have the most bizarre family in the history of bizarre families.

Lizzie steps towards him, causing him to back up against a wall, "C'mon Edwin, I won't bite…much."

"Stay away!" he exclaims and shoots up the stairs.

Lizzie watches him run up the stairs before bursting out laughing and flopping back down on the couch, grabbing her sandwich and taking a bite out of it, "That was almost _too_ easy."

I smirk and before glancing back at the door.

Where _is_ she?

**-¤-**

**So…what'd you think?**

**R&R and please, no flames!**

**Lotsa love, degrassichick :-)**


	5. Casey's Just Supervising

**AN: Hey everyone! Thanks so much for the reviews! They're the best and they keep inspiring me to write a new chapter! Thanks!**

**So…here's Chapter 5, R&R and please, no flames!**

**Lotsa love, **

**degrassichick**

**-♥-**

**Chapter 5**

**-♥-**

Finally! A normal date!

My date with Brian was definitely relaxing after what went on with Chuck.

We went to see a movie and then ordered a pizza and ate it in the bed of his pickup truck with a blanket under us.

How cute is that?

"This house?" he asks, as he edges towards my house around 11:15.

"That's the one." I say sadly, I really don't want this date to end.

He pulls into the driveway and takes the key out of the ignition, "I had a really good time with you, Casey."

I smile, "I had a really good time with you too, Brian." I say softly.

"Can we hang out again soon?" he asks.

I nod, "Absolutely. Do you have a pen?"

He hands me a pen and I grab his hand, writing my phone number down.

I've watched too many teen movies.

"Well, I'll see you later…" he drifts off.

I smile and brush my lips softly against his, "Bye Brian." I say with a smile before hopping out of his truck and watching as he pulled out of my driveway and disappeared down the street.

Letting out a sigh, I make my way towards the front door, opening it and tiptoeing inside.

"Where have you been?" Derek's voice asks as soon as I shut the door.

I let out a scream and turn towards him, "God, Derek! Give me a _heart attack_, why don't you?"

"Where were you?"

"Out on my date with Brian, where did you think I was? You called like thirty minutes ago."

"You shouldn't be out that late on dates." Derek scolds.

_What is wrong with him?_

"Oh please," I scoff, "you're out on dates until three in the morning!" I exclaim, "And besides, Mom and George said it was fine when I called them, so relax."

"Well you broke the rules." Derek states.

My jaw drops, "How did I break the rules?"

"I didn't meet your date." He says, grinning triumphantly.

"He's the prize guy at Broadway Billiards! You saw what he looked like _and_ he answered my cell when you called! That's all you needed was to know, that I was with him."

Derek's face pales, "Well…what was he doing with your phone in the first place?"

I groan, "Why do you even _care_?" I ask exasperatingly.

"Just looking out for you, Case."

I roll my eyes, "Well do yourself a favor, and don't look out for me anymore, okay?" I ask annoyingly before turning and running up the stairs towards my bedroom.

I slam my door shut behind me and lean against it, only to see Lizzie laying on her bed, reading a book.

"You're still up?" I ask confusingly.

"It's twenty after eleven." She says factually.

"Yeah, but it's a Sunday."

Lizzie rolls her eyes, "We don't have school tomorrow, remember?"

I rack through my brain, she's right. It's a vacation day.

"Oh…" I say, "You're right."

Lizzie sighs, "Nice argument with Derek."

"God, he's so infuriating!" I groan and throw myself on my bed.

"He was really worried about you." She declares.

I roll my eyes, "I don't care if he sent the police out looking for me, he had _no_ right to flip out on me like that."

Lizzie lets out a sigh before sitting her book down on her nightstand and leaning back on her bed, "So, are you going to see him again?"

"Brian? Yeah, I hope so."

"Are you guys allowed to date the same person twice?" Lizzie asks.

I let out a sigh and shake my head, "Fifteen different people. That's why Derek's date from today didn't count."

"Does he know that?" Lizzie asks confusingly.

I smirk; if Derek would have known that then there is _no_ way he would have gone on another date with Tiffanie.

"No, I don't think so."

-**¤-**

"Morning, sweetie. How was your weekend?" Nora asks me as she walks into the kitchen the next morning.

I shrug, "Fine, I guess."

I went on three dates with two psychos, nothing out of the norm.

"Morning, Mom." Casey chirps, jogging down the stairs and pecking her mom on the cheek before frowning towards me, "Detective Derek."

"Detective Derek?" Nora asks confusingly.

Casey nods, "Yep; your pathetic-excuse-of-a-_stepson_ over there waited by the door for me last night."

"You waited by the door for Casey to get home?" Nora asks.

I shrug, "It was almost eleven thirty, Nora. Isn't that a bit late?"

Nora sighs, "Derek, I've known you to be out longer than that."

I roll my eyes, is everybody against me in this household?

"I'm going to go see if Marti is up yet, I was going to take her to the park." Nora says before excusing herself from the kitchen and retreating upstairs.

"So…I'm officially beating you." Casey says triumphantly.

_What?_

"No you're not," I laugh nervously, "we're tied up."

Casey grins and shakes her head, "Nope, sorry."

"We've both went on three dates, we're tied."

"Yes, but I went on three dates with three different people; you went on three dates as well, but two of the dates were with the same girl."

"_So_? That has nothing to do with it!"

Casey shakes her head, "It does, actually. You said, and I quote, 'I bet you that by the end of this week, I can have _at least_ ten girls crawling all over me'."

"I never said different in that quote, Case." I say, taking a bite out of my cereal.

Casey rolls her eyes at me, "You didn't have to. You said 'at least ten girls' that means different. It doesn't count, you went out with Tiffanie twice; therefore, I am winning."

"But that's not fair."

Casey scoffs, "Sorry Derek, all's _not_ fair in love, war, and high school."

"That's not even the right quote!" I shout out after her as she saunters out of the kitchen, "This conversation isn't over!"

"I think it is…" she sings out at me mockingly as she makes her way towards the stairs.

I'm an idiot.

I run a hand through my hair and let out a frustrated sigh.

"What's up your butt?" Edwin asks, walking into the kitchen.

"Casey." I grumble.

Edwin laughs, "What'd she do? Is she beating you?"

"Yes." I look up at him, "Apparently when I speak, I don't _hear_ myself…because I missed a _very_ important detail. And that's that you can't re-date the same person."

Edwin lets out a chuckle, "So your date from Hell yesterday didn't count?"

I roll my eyes, "Apparently."

Edwin keeps laughing.

What kind of crap is that? First he picks Casey over me to win this bet, and now he _laughs_ at me.

Some brother _I've_ got.

-**♥-**

I'm lying on my bed, reading a book, when the phone rings.

I sigh and roll off the bed, making my way towards the phone sitting on my nightstand, "Hello?"

"Is Derek there…?" a girl's voice asks.

I roll my eyes, "Yeah, he's here."

"Oh, okay. Well could you tell him that Becca is waiting for him outside?"

Another date, go figure.

I sigh, "Sure, I'll tell him."

"Thanks." Becca says and hangs up.

I roll my eyes and toss my phone on the bed before making my way towards the hall, "Derek, Becca is outside for you!" I shout out.

"Who's Becca?" Derek calls back.

I scoff, "How should I know? Maybe it's Becca Peterson."

"What's she doing here?" Derek calls back.

"Just go ask her!" I yell before slamming my bedroom door shut.

I return to my bed and turn back to my book as I hear the front door shutting.

It makes sense if its Becca Peterson…I guess. She's in all advanced classes and is _very_ brainy…plus-according to Emily, she's had a crush on Derek since the fourth grade.

I let out a frustrated sigh before curiosity gets the better of me and I make my way towards the window, pushing the sashes aside and glancing out at our front yard to see it is.

It's not Becca Peterson; it's Becca Reynolds-one of the most popular girls in our grade.

She's grinning at him flirtatiously and running a hand over his arm.

He says something that makes her laugh, her jaw dropping open and clomping up and down as she slings her hands around his neck and whispers something in his ear.

Derek grins and nods before wrapping an arm around her waist and leading her off down the sidewalk.

Great, we're tied up.

Wait a second, I have to meet her.

Haha! He's going to have the worst date on the planet…know why?

I'm following.

**-♥-**

He took her to the movies, how typical.

All the more reason to make out, I suppose.

I watch as they take their seats before plopping myself down two rows behind them.

I sit back on my chair and watch as they casually talk to one another, Derek slips his arm over her shoulder.

Why is he always so quick to his actions? Not all girls like that, you know!

Apparently, Becca does, because she grins and pecks his cheek.

I throw my forehead into my palm; can't a single girl (besides me, of course) just _not _like him?

Derek murmurs something towards her and Becca's face lights up.

Please tell me he didn't ask her to make-out.

The couple slowly begins to lean into each other.

He _did _ask her that!

My jaw clenches and I shake my head in disbelief, I can't believe this.

Just then, an overweight man comes in front of me and plops down right in front of my view of Derek and Becca.

Oh no…no, no, no!

I lean up as high as I can and try to catch a view, but all I can see is two heads meshing against each other.

Well, I now know for sure that they are making out at least.

If only the dude in front of me would just _move_ already!

He lets out a cough and throws an arm over the chairs on either side of him.

I let out a frustrated sigh and tap him on the shoulder, "Excuse me, I'm supervising my step-brother's date in front of you and I was wondering if you could scoot down a few seats?"

The man turns around.

Oh…crap.

It's Chuck.

"Casey!" he exclaims, "Sit beside me, c'mon…don't be shy."

My face pales and I grimace, if I want to see what's going on with Derek and Becca, I guess it's my best move.

I stand up from where I am sitting and move to the row where Chuck is, sitting down beside him. His arm immediately clamps over my shoulder.

"This is great." He smiles triumphantly.

_Yep…absolutely perfect._

Eh hem, not.

"Wait a minute; you're supervising your brother's date?" he asks, his voice suddenly growing angrier.

"Yeah, why?"

That's when I realize it.

Oh my God.

Tiffanie.

"That cheating punk!" Chuck exclaims before hurling his arm off of my shoulder and throwing it around Derek's neck, holding it up against the seat.

My mouth drops open.

This is very _bad_.

-**¤-**

"What the hell?" I choke out, trying to escape the psycho's arm, "Let me go!"

Becca squeals, "Oh no, Derek!" she cries out.

"You think you can just get away with cheating on my sister like that, you little ass?" a very familiar voice seethes.

It's Chuck.

Becca's mouth drops open, "You're with another girl?"

My eyes widen and I shake my head, "No, Becca…it's not that, I-"

_SMACK_.

"I can't believe I agreed to go on this date with you. I hate you, Derek Venturi!" she cries out before running down the aisle and up the stairs of the theater room we are in.

Shit. Now who's going to help me?

Go figure the only three of us in the theater were me, Becca, and Chuck.

"Chuck, let go." Another _very_ familiar voice says.

My heart speeds up.  
Casey is here.

"Okay, Case…sorry, baby." He says and releases his grip from my neck.

I jolt my head around to face Casey as the theater goes dark, the previews beginning to roll, "You told him?"  
Casey shakes her head, "I didn't actually _know_ who I was talking to."

I roll my eyes and stand up, latching onto her arm and pulling her up with me.

"Where are you taking my girl?" Chuck asks, standing up as well.

I scoff, "I'm not taking your _girl_ anywhere; I'm taking _Casey_ home."

And with that I hauled her out of the theater.

"Thanks a lot, Case." I grumble as we brush past the concession area and towards the main center of the mall.

"All I said was that I was supervising my step brother's-" she cuts herself off.

I can see why.

I smirk, "Supervising? You _followed_ me here?"

Casey rolls her eyes, "Not on _purpose_, you just…happened to be here."

"Then why were you supervising?"

Casey groans frustratingly, "Just shut up." She proclaims and stalks ahead of me.

I chuckle, "And why would I do that? We're now officially tied."

Casey stops and turns to face me, a smile slowly spreading to her face, "Nope."

My face pales, "What do you mean 'no'?"

Casey laughs, "Well, I came here to make it fair for you and meet your date. But I didn't get to meet her; therefore, the date doesn't count."

She isn't serious.

No way can she be serious.

"Well that's a stupid rule." I scoff.  
Casey rolls her eyes, "You came up with it, genius."

"Well, can I take it back?" I ask.

Casey grins, "Nope, sorry." She says and hurries off ahead of me as she spots a guy standing by a cart selling hands.

Oh yeah, that's high rank.

First she asks out a guy with no job, then goes out with guy who could easily be on WANTED posters, then asks out a guy working at a prize counter, and now a guy working out a cap cart.

How classy of her.

She hurries up to him and smiles, he grins back and they stay like that for five minutes.

Wait a minute…she's rubbing his arm.

Why is she rubbing his arm?

She shouldn't be doing that, should she?

I shake my head and stalk up towards her, wrapping my arm around her waist.

"Baby, what are you doing?" I coo in her ear.

What is she doing?

No, what am _I _doing?

**-¤-**

**So…what'd you think?**

**R&R and please, no flames!**

**Lotsa love, degrassichick**


	6. Jealous, Derek? Of course

**Hey everyone! Thanks so much for the reviews, you're awesome!**

**I just found out that I am going to be an aunt, finally!**

**My brother and his wife are going to have a baby in seven months, I'm so excited!**

**It was insane, my dad laughed, I screamed, my mom cried (and cried and cried and cried), and all in all, it was just…very emotional! LoL…but I'm going to have a niece or nephew, yay! LoL!**

**Well here's Chapter 6…hope you like!**

**R&R and please, no flames!**

**Lotsa love, degrassichick**

**-**♥-

**Chapter 6**

**-**♥**-**

Oh. My. GOD.

What the hell is Derek doing?

I shake away from his grip on my waist and eye him in shock, but he simply smirks at me and turns towards the guy at the hat cart, "New friend, Case?"

My eyes darken, why is he doing this?

"I'm Jeff." He said with a confused expression.

"I'm Derek, Casey's boy-"

Oh _no_ he doesn't.

"He's lying. He's actually just my overprotective st-"

Derek rolls his eyes, "Ignore Casey, she hasn't fully acknowledged that we're together as-"

"Step-"

Derek's voice floats over mine, "A couple."

I can _not_ believe him!

Die, Derek, die!

Jeff backs away, "Uh, okay…I have to get back to work…bye."

No, no, no, no!

Derek smirks and snags his arm around my waist, hauling me off down the corridors of the mall.

I glance towards the washrooms that are to my left before latching onto the collar of his shirt and yanking him inside.

"Casey, this is the girl's wash-"

I slam him against wall.

Derek smirks, "Wow, Case, I had no idea that you were so-"

I cut him off, "What is your problem?" I shout, "Why did you do that?"

"Do what?" he asks confusingly.

That jerk.

"You know what!"

"Oh you mean with the hat guy?" Derek asks stupidly.

_Well, duh, moron_.

I nod impatiently, "Obviously, dumb-ass."

Derek rolls his eyes, "I did it for your own protection, Case."

My jaw drops, "My own _protection_? No, you did it so you had a better shot of winning, and that is cheating! How could you tell him that we were going out Derek? You're my _brother_ for crying out loud!"

Of course, it's at that time that a mid-forty-year-old women and an eight year old girl appear.

The woman's jaw drops and she hauls the younger girl out of the washroom.

Derek lowers his voice, "Step brother."

I flick my hand in the air, "Whatever, I don't care. You had _no_ right to say that to him!"

Derek scoffs, "What's done is done, Case."

I let out a groan of frustration, "You are _so_ infuriating!" I exclaim before throwing my hands up in the air and stalking out of the washroom.

As soon as I appear in the main corridors of the mall, I see the woman and the young girl from the washroom standing by the water fountains.

"Are you really dating your brother?" the little girl asks.

I shake my head in disgust, "Of course not."

"Well he thinks you are. I think." She says.

"Lisa, that is none of our business." The woman hushes her, "Excuse my daughter."

I shake my head, "Trust me, Derek hardly even likes me as a step-sibling, he would _never _'like me' like me, trust me."

Lisa shrugs, "Whatever you say." She says in a sing-song voice as Derek appears out of the bathroom and gives a bashful smile towards the mother and daughter.

The mother smiles before latching onto Lisa's hand and leading her into the washroom.

"Really smooth back there, Derek." I scoff.

Derek smirks, "I learn from the best."

I think back to what Lisa said about Derek liking me.

Impossible?

Definitely.

**-¤-**

I don't know what's wrong with me, I really don't.  
Why did I stop Casey from going out with the guy? Why?

It was like I was _jealous_ or something.

I mean, come _on_, I posed as her _boyfriend_ for crying out loud!

But why would I be jealous of Casey?

She's my _step sister_.

As we continue through the mall, she smiles towards a guy standing in front of a clothing store.

Oh God, don't ask him out.

I happen to know who this guy is, in fact.

His name is Carter Richards, the second biggest play-boy in our school, me being the first, of course.

Casey makes her way towards Carter and grins, flipping her hair over her shoulder and smiling flirtatiously at him.

I let out a sigh, tapping my foot against the ground as I watch him lean in closer to her and watch her giggle.

Why is she laughing?

What is he telling her?

He says something with a smile and she grins and nods, before saying one more thing and then turning, walking back towards me.

"Another date?" I spit out.

Casey grins, "Yep. Let's see, what's the score now? You have two, and I have…four. Ha! I'm so kicking your butt."

I roll my eyes and change the subject, "So what time is Carter picking you up?"

"Around eight thirty, why?"

"Well I have to meet him, don't I?" I say, a bit more harshly than I should have.

Casey eyes me confusingly, "Uh…yeah. I'll meet you at the car." She says and brushes past me, walking away.

I tilt my head back and let out a frustrated sigh.

I really don't know what's wrong with me, but as of right now, I couldn't care less about the bet.

All I care about is making sure that Carter does nothing to my Case—I mean, my _step sister_ Casey.

_Step sister, Derek. Step sister._

_Remember that._

-♥**-**

"Is he cute?" Lizzie asks me later on that night as I stand at our mirror, pulling my hair back into a ponytail.

I give a slight blush and nod, "Yeah, Carter's really cute."

"You've met him before today, right?"

I nod, "He's in bio with me, and we sit beside each other in World Cultures."

"Is he nice?"

I roll my eyes and laugh, "From my experiences with talking to him, yeah. He's really nice."

Lizzie smirks, "That's good. But it really sucks that you're beating Derek."

I whip my head around, "Excuse me?"

Lizzie laughs, "Just saying, I'm placing my bet on Derek."

"Then why are you prepping me for this date?"

Lizzie gives me a stupid glare, "Could you imagine Edwin sitting in here asking if Carter was or wasn't cute?"

I laugh, "Good point."

She grins and rolls off of her bed, "I'm going to see if dinner's ready." She says and disappears out of our bedroom door.

I grab a tube of lip gloss, twisting off the top and slowly gliding the clear cherry flavored gloss over my lips and rubbing them together.

It's then that I see Derek in my mirror.

I sigh frustratingly and turn around to face Derek, "Can I help you?"

Derek rolls his eyes, "Just checking up on you, Carter should be getting here any minute now, right?"

I roll my eyes, "So? What's your point?" I snap.

Derek looks taken aback and utters out a reply, "Just so I can approve, you know."

I sigh, "Whatever, Derek."

"Well you don't have to be such a snob about it." He scoffs.

My jaw drops, "I am so _not_ a snob!"

Derek chuckles and steps into my room, coming closer to me, "You _define_ snob. Can you even _hear_ yourself speak half the time?"

I narrow my eyes at him, "Shut up. You're always so cocky and 'good with girls' that I'm shocked at how un-smooth you are with them."

"Well at least I'm not walking up to anything with a good looking face and asking them on a date." Derek throws back.

I scoff, "Oh _please_! If she's in a miniskirt, she's on a date with you. Don't even play like you're all wholesome Derek, it's such a lie."

"I'm not trying to be wholesome, but I think this whole bet thing is really getting to you."

_What is he talking about?_

"Huh?"

"Well now that four guys have agreed to go on dates with you, you think that you're like a goddess or something with guys."

I scoff, "Oh that is _so_ not true!"

"Keep telling yourself that, Case." Derek scoffs and turns to walk out the door.

I shake my head, "I'm not finished yet, Derek!" I snap and latch onto his hand to stop him from leaving.

It's then that I feel a huge chill shoot up my spine, goose-bumps rising on my arms.

What's going on?

**-¤-**

I've officially lost it.

As soon as Casey puts her hand onto mine, chills and shivers are shooting up and down my spine like I've got a crush on her or something.

Oh my God.

That's not possible.

I can _not_ have a crush on Casey, I just can't.

That is wrong on _so_ many levels.

I gulp and turn around, "What, Case? What else do you need to say?"

Casey is at a loss for words, stammering and uttering, biting her lower lip nervously.

God, why does she do that? It just makes me want to kiss her.

I shoot my eyes to the ground to avoid looking at her.

"I-I just…I…" Casey tries desperately to muster up a response to my question.

My eyes dart back towards her face as she stares at the ground as well.

I take two fingers and cup them under her chin, slowly lifting it up, so her eyes meet my own.

What am I doing?

What am I doing?

What am I _doing_?

"Derek…" she whispers softly, her eyes flutter shut as my lips inch closer towards her.

Our lips aren't even a millimeter apart when the doorbell rings.

The two of us jump apart, Casey shaking her head nervously, "Um…that's…that's uh…"

"Carter." I miserably finish for her.

Casey nods, "Right, that guy." She says before grabbing her purse off of her bed and hurrying out of her bedroom, me scuffling along behind her.

Okay, what the _hell_ just happened?

**-**♥**-**

"Um…Carter, you know my-my stepbrother, Derek." I stammer nervously.

Carter nods and gives a smirk towards Derek, "Hey Venturi."

"Hey…Richards." Derek mutters back.

"Great." I say shortly, "Now that you know each other, let's go Carter." I say hurriedly and latch onto his hand, hauling him out the door.

"So babe, how do you feel about getting in the backseat of my Jeep?" Carter asks cockily.

His Jeep?_ What_?

My eyes widen, "Uh…um…"

Carter laughs, "Just kidding, I figured we could go roller skating."

I laugh nervously, "Oh…roller skating. _Sure…_ sounds great."

Okay, I've officially lost it.

**-¤-**

Okay, I've officially lost it.

I'm following Casey on her date.

This afternoon, she followed me on my date.

Now I'm following her on _her_ date.

Well, I guess if she asks then I could always just say it was revenge for spying on me.

Although she would pretty much just think that I was spying on _her_, due to the almost-kiss that we had.

Man, I can't believe that we almost kissed.  
That is wrong on _so_ many levels.

For God's sake, it's practically incest!

I let out a frustrated sigh as I climb into my SUV and pull out of my driveway.

Wait a minute, how am I going to do this if I don't even know where they're going?

Boy, am I smooth.

I thrust my head back against the driver's seat frustratingly, stopping the car right before it hits the street.

It's then that my cell phone rings.

I let out a sigh and pick it up, Sam's name flashes on the caller ID.

I pick it up, "What's going on?" I ask casually.

I hear a lot of loud noise in the background, a combination of roller skates hitting the ground, talking, laughing, and loud music.

"Dude, did you know that your sister is here with Carter _Richards_?" Sam shouts into the phone.

I know, believe me, I know.

"Where with her?" I ask. Ha, I definitely have my ways of finding out where she is.

"Roller rink." Sam simply replies, "They look like they're about to start grinding on the floor or something!" he exclaims.

The phone drops out of my hand.

"Dude? Derek? Are you there?" I can hear Sam shouting through the phone.

I grab my phone from where it sits on the floorboard, "I'll meet you there." I say and snap my phone shut.

There's not a snowball's chance that Carter is _ever_ going to be grinding with Casey!

-♥**-**

"You are _so _lucky, Case." Emily gushes as the two of us skate off of the floor and plop down on a bench.

I grin and glance over at Carter, who is at the concession stand.

"Guess so." I laugh.

"But you guys haven't even skated together _once_, what gives?" she asks with a confused laugh.

I shrug, "I don't know. He's been talking with other people all night."

Emily shrugs, "Well at least it still counts as a date, and all you did was talk to me the whole night!"she laughs.

I laugh, "True, it's like a win-win situation!"

Emily grins, "Race you around the rink."

I laugh and jolt up from the bench, making my way towards the floor, "Way ahead of you, Em." I say and hurry onto the floor.

I notice that Emily isn't behind me.

"Emily?" I ask confusingly, skating back onto the carpet, "Hello? Emily? Earth to Emily!" I call out.

Emily is looking towards the entrance to the skating rink, a dazed smile on her face.

"What are you looking at?" I ask and look towards what she is looking at.

Oh _great_.

Derek is here.

He is glancing around the skating rink, as soon as he spots me, he hurries over.

Crap.

What is he _doing _here?

I smirk to myself; he can't get out on the floor unless he rents skates.

The best way to escape him, obviously, is to get on the floor.

I grin and hurry onto the floor, skating around it and watching him out of the corner.

He shakes his head in disbelief before hurrying towards the skate rental area and placing a few dollar bills on the table.

I roll my eyes and simply skate faster as I watch him slip his skates on, Emily grinning at him flirtatiously.

Derek hurriedly slips on his skates and hurries on to the floor as well, racing to catch up with me.

What is his _problem_?

"I need to talk to you!" he shouts out as he comes up behind me.

I roll my eyes, "About what? Why are you following me?"

"Why are you grinding with Carter?" he fires back.

I quit skating, whipping around to face him, "_Excuse_ me?"

"Yeah, why?" he repeats.

"Um, FYI: I haven't skated with Carter even _once_ tonight."

"But Sam said-"

My jaw drops and I cut him off, "You had Sam check up on me?"

Derek shakes his head, "No, he called saying that you were here with Carter, and then he said something about you guys grinding."

I roll my eyes, "Well I haven't skated with Carter, so this is something you need to talk over with Sam, not me." I snap and skate away from him.

"Wait a second, Casey!" Derek calls out, trailing behind me.

Ugh, will he _ever_ stop?

I whip around fast, "What-"

I get cut off when he slams right into me, the two of us shooting into the air and crashing to the ground, Derek splayed out on top of me.

Well _this_ is sure uncomfortable.

-**¤-**

**So, what'd you think?**

**R&R and please, no flames!**

**Lotsa love, degrassichick**


	7. Of Skating, Stumbling, and Secrets

**Hey everyone, sorry for the longer update! I actually had the chapter wrote but then I decided that I didn't like the chapter so I erased the whole thing and started over…so I'm really sorry! Plus, I've been under a lot of stress this week because my birthday is on Sunday (April 23…yay!) and my party is tomorrow…so I was hoping to get this chapter up before Friday…! Plus, I went to a concert last Saturday (All-American Rejects and Fall Out Boy…_AMAZING CONCERT!_) so I didn't have a lot of time to write anything last weekend…sorry!**

**Thanks for the reviews…you guys rule!**

**R&R and please, no flames!**

**Lotsa love, degrassichick**

**Oh yeah, and I'm starting up another Dasey story, I might have it up on Saturday or something this weekend/next week. It's going to be called Sadie Hawkins Dance (slightly inspired by the Relient K song…just because I was listening to it when the thought of making a Dasey story about a Sadie Hawkins Dance came to mind!), so be sure to look for it! Thanks!**

**-¤-**

**Chapter 7**

**-¤-**

Man, she's beautiful.

As I stare down at Casey, sprawled out underneath me, that's the only thought I can manage to think of.

Casey looks up at me, her eyes fluttering open, and then closing.

I suddenly hear a 'whoop' from the crowd of the skating rink.

Dear God, they're _whooping _us!

Come on, has _nobody_ ever seen two people trip over each other while skating? I mean it just so happened that it was me and Casey, but _come on_.

"I think they're expecting a kiss." I say huskily.

Casey sucks in a deep breath, and gives me a sly smirk.

Yes, yes, yes!

"Well…" she murmurs, "That is _not_ going to happen." She finishes and shoves me off of her.

I roll my eyes and try my best to stand up on my skates with out falling on my ass again, or worse, my face.

I manage o get up and regain my balance before holding out a hand for her to grab.

She reluctantly takes it and stands up before muttering a very small "thanks" and skating off towards Carter, who is eyeing me confusingly.

I let out a groan and skate off down the rink, being stopped by a very familiar girl with curly black hair.

"Hi Derek!" Emily squeals.

I cringe, "Hey Emily."

"That was quite a fall you took down there; you want me to help make you feel better?"

Oh God no, do _not_ make passes at me. I'mnot interested in girls making passes at me!

Well okay, that's a huge lie. But I'm particularly _not_ comfortable with _Emily_ making passes at me, that's for sure.

"No thanks." I mutter, before glancing over towards where Casey is standing beside Carter.

He has his arms wrapped around her waist and his head tilted towards her.

My jaw clenches, it's not as if I could just come over there and break them up…how bizarre would that look?

I let out a frustrated sigh as Casey giggles.

It's going to be a long night.

-**♥-**

Why do I feel like I'm giving Carter extra attention just for Derek's benefit?

Oh, that's right; because I _am_.

But why?

I mean, okay…so we _did_ almost kiss; but that was just a spur of the moment deal, I mean, it _had _to be!

Derek shoots me a glare and I turn to Carter, flirtatiously giggling and rubbing his arm.

I flip my hair over my shoulder and glance back at Derek, who is trying to escape Emily, who is following him around chattering happily.

He's too busy glaring at me that he _completely_ loses track of where he's going.

He crashes right into a girl with brown hair.

I let out a small laugh and Carter grins triumphantly as if he just made me laugh.

I haven't honestly laughed at a single thing he said tonight.

In fact, I haven't even _listened_ to a single thing he said tonight.

Derek sits up and helps the girl up as well; she grins at him and flips her hair over her shoulder.

I know who that is.

Her name is Amanda Jennings, she's a ninth grader.

Oh my God, he's going to ask out a fourteen-year-old?

Pathetic.

He looks at me out of the corner of his eye before grinning at Amanda and talking to her.

My stomach flips.

Can't Amanda do _any_ better than Derek?

She smiles and rubs her hand over his arm.

Okay, she can seriously stop now.

Derek glances down at his arm before looking back up at her and smirking, beginning to say something to her.

My heart is pounding against my chest and my stomach feels like it's about to fall out of my body.

I can't _take_ it anymore.

"Be right back." I mutter towards Carter before letting go of the railing I'm standing against and skating back onto the floor, making my way towards Derek.

I think my body has a mind of its own, because I have _no_ idea what I'm doing.

I near him and Amanda glances over at me curiously before turning back to Derek, chatting away happily.

That's when I crack.

I purposely slam right into the side of Derek, the two of us crashing to the floor.

"Damn, Casey!" Derek exclaims, practically pushing me off of him as Amanda helps him up.

I crouch down, my hands trying to grip the floor as I stand up cautiously on my skates, regaining balance.

I give him an apologetic smile that is nothing but fake, "Oops, sorry. You know, I am Klutzilla, after all."

Derek rolls his eyes at me and gives me a flick of the hand, telling me to leave.

I don't, of course.

Derek shoots me an angry glare before turning back to Amanda and sheepishly smiling.

I skate up behind him, watching as Amanda looks at me with worry in her brown eyes.

I grin back at her.

Just then, one of my favorite songs by Panic! At the Disco comes on.

"Derek!" I scream in his ear.

Derek's body jolts and he whips around to face me, "What the hell do you want, Casey?"

"It's 'I Write Sins Not Tragedies'!" I squeal, "I _love_ this song!"

"Then go skate to it!" Derek shouts back darkly before turning towards Amanda, "So anyway, as I was saying-"

"Um…I like this song too." Amanda buts in, "And since Casey isn't really talking to Carter, I'm going to go ask him to skate with me. See you around, Derek." She says before turning and skating off towards Carter.

Derek glares at me angrily.

I grin, "_Hey _Derek."

"What is your _problem_?"

I bat my eyes innocently, "Problem? Why, I don't have a problem, my dear stepbrother."

Derek shoots me another angry look, "Did you want something?"

"I have to have a reason to talk to you now?" I ask stupidly.

Derek rolls his eyes, "You always have a reason, Case."

I roll my eyes right back at him, "Well if you don't want to talk to me, then I guess I'll just head on home. Seeing as Amanda took my date and Emily is MIA. Have fun without me…all alone, dateless…in a room full of Skating Swingers of the Seventies." I mumble the last part, glancing around at the elderly people skating around the rink slowly, wearing spandex.

Ew.

Derek scoffs, "Well, since you _ruined_ my evening-"

"I did not ruin your evening. _You _ruined _my_ evening, just barging in here in the middle of my date."

"Well excuse me, Princess Casey. I wasn't aware that I wasn't allowed to be at the skating rink when you are here."

I eye him up and down, "Not my problem that you weren't aware of the rules." I mutter before turning and skating back to the concession area to take off my skates and head home.

Wait a minute…I don't have a ride.

-**¤-**

"Derek!" Casey calls out just as soon as I hit the carpet of the skating rink.

I glance towards her and see that she is wearing a pair of flip flops.

"What?" I ask, skating towards a table and beginning to remove my roller blades.

"I don't have a ride." Casey says quietly.

I scoff and remove my first roller blade, kicking it aside and removing my second one.

Casey scoffs, "Fine, just ignore me, why don't you?"

"That's what I'm trying to do, Case." I say, getting up from the bench and bringing my blades to the rental area before heading towards my Adidas and putting them back on.

Casey stalks back towards me, "Did you hear me? I don't have a ride."

"Yeah, I heard you. I just don't care. I'm not giving you a ride home. Hitch one with some grandpa that's not too busy grooving to the seventies for all I care." I scoff, standing up.

"Derek!" Casey exclaims, slugging me, sending chills up my spine, "You barged in on my date and then won't even give me a ride home?"

"You barged in on my date." I reply, as the two of us retreat outside the skating rink.

Casey rolled her eyes, "Oh _please_, you weren't even on a date."

"Well I could have been if you wouldn't have interrupted me." I scoff back.

Casey sighs, "Well Carter wasn't exactly the greatest date on the planet anyway."

I eye her questioningly as we near my SUV, "What do you mean?"

Casey shrugs, burying her hands in the pocket of her hoodie, "I don't know…he kind of checked out other girls while we were there, and he _only_ talked about himself." Casey mutters, "Oh, and he laughed at his own jokes." She adds in.

"Oh." I nod.

"Yeah." Casey replies, before glancing over at me, "He reminded me a lot of you."

_Excuse me?_

I give her an open mouth smile, "What did you say?"

Casey grins and shrugs as we climb into opposite ends of my car, "He just did. You can take it either way, as a compliment or as an insult."

"Well I obviously take it as an insult since you didn't think he was that good of a date."

Casey laughs and rolls her eyes, glancing out the window as we pull out of the parking lot.

"But I'll have you know that I am a great date." I throw in.

Casey chuckles and rolls her eyes, "Yeah, yeah. Just keep telling yourself that."

I smirk towards her, she's so good looking. I can't believe that Carter even had the _nerve_ to check out other girls while Casey was with him.

If I were with Casey, I would never—wait a minute, _if I was with Casey_?

Oh my God, I really do have a crush on her.

Well, I guess I have for awhile now. But with this whole bet thing going on, I'm attracted to her even more-so.

Weird or what?

Okay, me liking her isn't weird.

Me being her _stepbrother_ and liking her…now that's three things:

It's weird.

It's incest.

And it's wrong, wrong, wrong!

But right now, I really don't care. Not anymore at least.

Oh man, I'm turning into a sap.

As I pull up to a stop light, I realize something.

I turn towards Casey, "Were you just talking my head off so you could get a ride with me?"

Casey laughs and nods, "Yep..." she looks towards me, "Why? Does it bother you?"

I can't help but grin, "Not at all."

-**♥-**

Wow.

I can't believe I actually had a normal conversation with Derek, without any fighting or anything!

As we pull up towards the house, I smile towards him, "Thanks for the ride. I hate to admit it, especially since it has to do with you, but I've had more fun in the past ten minutes with you than I did for the past two hours with Carter."

Derek smirks, "I'm honored."

I laugh, "Yeah, I bet you are."

Derek laughs and the two of us climb out of his SUV and make it up the front walk and front steps of our house.

"So…you ready to give up on this whole bet thing yet?" I ask with a laugh.

"Now why would I go and do that?"

"Because I'm beating you, obviously."

Derek scoffs, "Hate to break it to ya Case, but you're not beating me."

My jaw drops, "I am too!"

"How?" Derek asks, "How many dates have you been on since this date began?"

I roll my eyes, "There was Brian…Chad-" I shudder as soon as I say him, Derek does as well, "…Brian...Carter…" I finish.

Derek laughs, "You went out with two different Brians?"

_Whoa…I just realized that!_

I laugh and shrug, "Guess so. How many have you been on?"

Derek sighs, "Claire…" _psycho_ "Tiffanie…Becca...and…" Derek stops.

I knew I was beating him!

I grin triumphantly, "I'm so beating you."

Derek rolls his eyes, "Yeah, by one date."

I scoff, "Well, I'm still beating you."

Derek nods, "Yeah, yeah. But just wait. We have school and then the chicks will be swarming me."

I laugh and roll my eyes.

Suddenly, a cool Canadian breeze whips through my hair and I shiver.

It's then that I realize that the two of us are still standing outside.

"Should we go in?" I ask with a laugh.

Nodding, Derek opens the door for me.

Aw…maybe he really _is _changing.

Wait a minute, he's _Derek_, changing isn't even in his genes.

Although he _was_ pretty nice to me tonight…well, after he invaded my date that is.

"Thanks." I say softly and step inside.

Mom, George, and Marti are all sitting on the couch, Marti's head is resting against George, she must be asleep.

Mom turns around and smiles at us, "Hey you guys."

Derek smirks, "Hey."

"How was your night?" George asks.

I shrug, "Alright, I guess. Derek was surprisingly nice enough to give me a ride home." I say with a laugh, nudging Derek.

Okay, for some reason tonight, every time I've touched him, my hand has tingled.

I'm losing it. I have to be losing it.

Derek scoffs, "Yeah, after you literally _talked_ your way into my car."

I laugh and shrug, "A girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do."

Derek smirks and yawns, "Well I think I'm gonna head upstairs…night." He says before turning and jogging up the stairs.

"So did you have a nice time, Casey?" Mom asks.

I nod, "Yeah, I did. But I think I'm going to head upstairs, I still have a paragraph on my term paper that I need to write and it's due tomorrow."

Mom nods, "Well, would you mind taking Marti up to bed?" she asks politely.

I shake my head, "Not at all." I say and make my way towards them, scooping up my little stepsister.

Marti's arm swings around my shoulder as I tell Mom and George goodnight and retreat upstairs.

"Smerek likes you, you know." Marti mumbles sleepily as I head up the stairs slowly.

_What_?

"How do you know that, Marti?"

She yawns, "I just do…" she murmurs before falling against the crook of my neck.

I head into her bedroom and lay her down in her bed, pulling the blankets up over her, "Goodnight Marti." I say softly, kissing her forehead.

Marti turns her back towards me, cuddling up to the teddy bear lying haphazardly on the bed, "Love you Casey." She says groggily.

I smile down at her before making my way outside her bedroom, being sure to leave her door open a crack so she still has a sliver of hallway light in her room.

I sigh and head into my bedroom.

**-♥-**

Okay, I've been trying to write this paragraph for an _hour_ now and this is just about all I'm getting:

_Other reasons why we should use the Derek is because his lips always look so kissable and he has a smile that just about anybody could die for…including guys…_backspace, backspace, backspace.

The first time it happened, my eyes almost popped out of my sockets, then it kept on happening.

I pound down on my keyboard before standing up.

I have to see Derek.

**-¤-**

Somebody's outside my bedroom.

I think its Casey.

Okay, I _hope_ its Casey.

Knowing my luck, it's Marti having another bad dream.

Not that I would be angry if it were Marti, I just want it to be Casey.

I haven't been able to sleep because I keep thinking back to her.

I can't stop thinking about her.

Her hair, her eyes, the way she looks when she gets angry…just everything about her turns me on.

I'm completely going insane.

I roll off of my bed and stand up, making my way towards my door.

I grip onto the knob, slowly twisting it open.

_Please be Casey, please be Casey._

-**♥-**

I'm completely gutless.  
I don't think I can do this.

What is wrong with me?

**-¤-**

I open up the door the rest of the way, swinging it open.

I hear a bedroom door shutting.

It _was_ Casey.

And she's gone.

-**¤-**

**So what'd you think?**

**R&R and please, no flames!**

**Lotsa love, degrassichick**


	8. Who's Laughing Now?

**OMG I am _so_ sorry about the long update! I feel so bad now:-( **

**I've been so busy with finishing the school year that I haven't had a lot of time to write…so I'm really sorry!**

**This chapter is shorter than others strictly because the ending of the chapter is a cliffhanger (you have been warned) and I figured that would be a good place to start up the next chapter, so this chapter is shorter! Sorry!**

**Anyways, sorry again for the long update.**

**Here's Chapter 8…hope you like!**

**R&R and please, no flames!**

**Lotsa love, **

**Degrassichick**

**-♥-**

**Chapter 8**

**-♥-**

_Idiot. Idiot. IDIOT!_

Those are the first words that enter my mind as I step into my bedroom and close the door.

I'm such a wimp.

I hear his bedroom door opening.

If I would have just stayed at his door just ten seconds longer, he would have opened it and seen me.

Wait a second, his bedroom door isn't closing.

Why isn't it closing?

Maybe he's getting a snack or something…

But then he'd have to go downstairs, and I don't hear any footsteps echoing down the stairs.

I hear footsteps outside my bedroom door.

Unbelievable.

He actually went after me.

Aww.

**-¤-**

I am determined to figure out why she was at my bedroom door.

That is why I am now standing at _her _bedroom door.

Just as my fist reaches the door to knock, it swings open and I am face-to-face with my stepsister.

She's gorgeous.

She isn't wearing any makeup and she is wearing a simple pair of pajamas with her hair back in a ponytail, but she still looks flawless.

"Did you want something?" she asks with mock boredom.

I scoff, "You were the one at _my_ door, did _you_ want something?"

Casey sucks in a deep breath and shakes her head, "Whoever said that I was at your bedroom door? Did you _see_ me at your bedroom door?"

"Someone was at my bedroom door and then as soon as I opened the door I heard _your_ bedroom door shut…what am I supposed to think?"

Casey's face is illuminated by the moonlight as she shrugs, "I couldn't sleep…I was just seeing if you were awake…that's all."

Oh.

I shrug, "Yeah, I was awake."

Casey nods, "Okay then…" she said awkwardly.

I jerk my thumb back towards her door, "I'm just going to um…"

Casey nods her head, "Yeah."

I lift my hand in an awkward half-wave before turning and walking out of her bedroom, starting down the hallway.

Not even thirty seconds later, I hear Casey.

"Derek?" she asks softly.

I spin around to face her, my heart pounding against my chest, "Yeah, Case?"

Casey rubs her lips together and gulps, "Um…"

_Kiss her. Just go over there and kiss her!_

"What?"

Casey lets out a sigh and shakes her head, "Nothing. Never mind."

I nod slowly, "Okay…goodnight."

"Night." She says softly before turning and closing her bedroom door.

And off to my room for another restless night I go.

-**♥-**

You should have just grabbed him and kissed him.

Why didn't I just grab him and kiss him?

He looks so cute at night, with his frazzled hair and his tired face…I love it.

Oh my God, I am such a sap.

I come down the stairs the next morning at breakfast, I see Derek sitting at the table shoveling cereal into his mouth.

"Morning." I chip, plopping down beside him.

Derek glances over at me for a moment before retreating to his precious Fruit Loops.

"So, Case…getting more dates today?" Edwin asks, strolling in to the kitchen.

I smirk, "Planning on it."

"How about you, Derek?" Lizzie asks, following close behind Edwin.

He shrugs, "Same. I guess."

I roll my eyes and pour some cereal into my bowl.

"Did you have fun on your date last night, Casey?" Lizzie asks, grabbing a banana and taking a bite out of it.

I roll my eyes and stand up from the table, "Oh yeah, definitely. Until a certain _someone_, who's name I won't mention, completely trashed the entire night."

"Oh yeah, blame me." Derek groans, standing up from the table as well.

"Well it _was_ your fault."

"Why are you snapping at me? We were actually getting along last night!"

Edwin's milk spits out and he coughs and chuckles, "Wait a minute, you guys actually _got along_ last night?"

I narrow my eyes towards Derek, "Spur of the moment, what can I say?" I snap before stalking out of the dining room and grabbing my backpack from where it is sitting against the door, slinging it over my shoulder.  
As soon as I get outside, I can hear Derek following me.

"Do you need a ride?" he asks.

I scoff, "From you…don't think so."

"Okay, what is your problem?" Derek asks annoyingly.

I honestly have no idea.

I think it's because I am gutless, and I am just now coming to terms with it.

I shrug, "Don't know."

"I actually had fun talking to you last night, Casey. And now you're just blowing me off and being a bitch, what is that all about?"

"Last night went not according to plan. That's all I can say."

Derek follows after me as I start off down the sidewalk, "So what? You expected your night to just be perfect? You expected it to just be you and Carter?"

No, I didn't expect to go to your room in the middle of the night for a make out session and chicken out as soon as my hand touched the doorknob!

I just roll my eyes, "Something like that." I mutter and stalk off in front of him.

-**¤-**

"I don't get what her problem is!" I exclaim towards Sam as I stand at my locker.  
Sam eyes me confusingly, "Why are you so hung up on what Casey thinks anyway?"

I sigh, "I don't know. I think this whole bet thing is just going to my head."

"Oh yeah, how's that going?" he asks casually.

I shrug, "It's going, I'm just waiting for it to go_ away_."

Sam chuckles, "Not interested in dating anymore?"

"It's not that. It's just…I don't know…I guess I don't like competing with her or something." I mumble.  
Sam eyes me in shock.

I turn towards him, "Yeah, I know."

"I think this whole ordeal is stupid anyway." Sam throws in.

I shrug, "Well, now that I've started the game, I have to finish it, and I have to finish it by winning it."

"Well, there's your next candidate." Sam notes, pointing towards a girl named Alyson, who is standing at her locker.

Yeah, she's cute and nice, but she's a sophomore…and rich, _filthy rich._

"Hey, Alyson!" Sam calls out.

"What are you doing?" I ask him cautiously as Alyson walks towards us.

"Hi Sam…hi Derek." She says, smiling towards me shyly.

Sam smiles at Alyson, "So…Derek was wondering if you wouldn't mind going out for pizza with him tonight."

Alyson flips a strand of her dark blonde hair over her shoulder before smiling towards me, "That sounds cool. Pick me up at seven, okay?" she asks with a smile before waving at us, flipping her hair over her tanned shoulder, and heading back towards her friends who are waiting for her at her locker.

"So, what did you do that for?" I ask, shutting my locker as the two of us head down the hallway.

Sam rolls his eyes, "To help you out, obviously.

"And here I thought you were on Casey's side." I mutter jokingly.

Sam laughs but doesn't reply as we enter history class.

Four dates down, eleven dates to go.

-♥-

He asked out Alyson Warner.

_Alyson Warner_!

She's is one of the most popular girls in the _entire_ school, of _course_ he would ask her out on a date, I mean…why wouldn't he?

I mean, she's got everything. She's a cheerleader, she's pretty, she's on the honor roll, she's nice to everyone, she's fun to be around, she's totally and one hundred percent _easy_.

All of the qualities that Derek likes in a girl.

Why am I obsessing over this?  
Why am I starting to obsess over every single aspect of Derek's life?

Oh my gosh…

This can't be happening.

This can _not_ be seriously happening.

Oh what the hell am I saying? _Of course_ this is happening; I mean…that _is _why I showed up at his room last night, because I wanted to make out with him. I can't believe the one thought that ran through my mind last night when I approached his bedroom door was to kiss him.

How much more perverted and disgusting can you _get_?

I guess it just never _completely_ registered in my mind until just now.

I, Casey McDonald, have a crush on Derek Venturi-my stepbrother.

How Jerry Springer is that?

-**¤-**

I am sitting on the couch, watching a hockey game and eating a bag of chips when the door swings open and I hear stomping.

Just as I begin to glance over my shoulder, I notice Casey stalk towards me and stand in front of me.

I turn back to face her, her hands are placed on her hips and she looks _pissed_.

"Can I help you?" I ask with a bored tone.

"Alyson Warner?" she asks.

"No…Derek Venturi. But thanks, it's nice to see how much time you've taken to learn my name in the past two-"

"You asked out _Alyson Warner_?" she cuts me off.

I eye her confusingly, "Is that a problem…?"

Casey scoffs and rolls her eyes like it is the most obvious question on the planet, "_Yes_, I have a…well…no…yeah…maybe…" she begins to mumble confusingly.

"Well sorry, but I had no idea how my date would ruin your life. Please, forgive me." I say sarcastically.

Casey narrows her eyes at me and groans angrily before stomping out of the living room.

I hear the door slam shut behind her.

Okay, Casey has major issues.

-**♥**-

"If he thinks that he can just ask out whatever girl he wants…fine. Then I can ask out whatever guy I want." I seethe to myself as I walk aimlessly around the mall, searching for any desperate person to go on a date with me.

Oh my gosh, I just burned myself.

Big time!

I discover a guy standing against the side of some electronic store, laughing and talking with some guy and tossing a hackey-sack back and forth between his hands.

It's Sam…_perfect_.

I grin to myself as I walk towards him, smiling sweetly, "Hey Sam." I say happily.

Sam turns to me and grins, "Casey…hey." He looks towards the guy and nudges his head, signaling him to leave.

The guy nods before smirking at me, waving at Sam, and walking off down the corridors, approaching two cheerleaders that are sitting on a bench.

"What's going on?" Sam asks with a smile.

I twist my fingers around each other and look up at him, "You've heard about my bet with Derek, right?"

Sam scoffs, "Heard about it? It'd be impossible not to hear about it, he talks about it _all day long_."

I rub my lips together, "Yeah, well…would you maybe mind-"

"Going on a date with you tonight?" he cuts me off.

My eyes widen and I glance up at him, smiling confusingly, "Um…yeah, how did you know I was going to ask that?"

Sam shrugs, "I figured it was just a matter of time. This'll be the best way to peeve him, you know, going out on a date with his best friend."

_That's the plan._

I laugh, "Um yeah…hadn't thought of it that way but that _does_ make sense."

Sam smiles and nods, "So I'll pick you up at your house around…seven?"

I nod, "Seven it is."

Well there you have it, Derek.

Who's laughing now?

-**¤-**

At six fifty-three, the doorbell rings.

"I'll get it!" I call out and jog out of my room, hurrying down the stairs.

I can hear Casey following me.

Before I open the door, I turn to look at her.

God, she's hot.

For some reason, however, she looks dressed up.

"Why are you so dressed up?" I ask confusingly.

Casey smirks at me and twirls a strand of her brown hair around her finger, "You're not the only one with a date tonight, Derek."

My heart falls to the pit of my stomach.

"You have a date?" I confirm.

Casey nods, "Yep, I have a date."

The doorbell rings again.

Casey smirks at me and heads down the rest of the stairs, "Better answer that."

I swing open the door and the shock comes right at me.

Because standing at the door, is not Alyson.

It's Sam…

And he has _flowers_.

-¤-

So, what'd you think?

Once again, sorry it's so short!

R&R and please, no flames!

Lotsa love, degrassichick


	9. What People Will Do When They're Jealous

**Hey! Well, I tried to update faster this time:-p LoL…**

**The end of this chapter is a bit…different, than I had planned when I started writing this…but oh, well! But there is something in this chapter that you might like (wink, wink)…**

**Well, here is Chapter 9…**

**R&R and please, no flames!**

**Lotsa love, degrassichick**

-♥-

**Chapter 9**

**-**♥-

I watch as Derek's face pales at the sight of Sam.

Haha!

I smirk and begin to watch the conversation between them, Sam looks _much_ happier than Derek, who looks like he just found out that hockey has been banned throughout Canada.

"Sam…what are you doing here?" Derek asks, his voice slightly shaking as he glances at his best friend curiously.

Sam brushes past him and smirks at me, handing me a bouquet of lilies, "I'm here to pick up Casey for our date."

Derek's jaw drops, "You're going on a date…with_ Casey_?"

Sam smirks towards him, "Well, I'm sure as hell not going on a date with you, am I?"

Derek's eyes narrow at him before he shifts his gaze towards me, "Why didn't you tell me that you were going on a date with him?"

_Excuse me?_

"I'm sorry…" I say sarcastically, "I didn't know that I had to have your approval over who I can and can't date."

Derek rolls his eyes, "Well, you could have at least-"

"Hey Derek…sorry, I know you said that you'd pick me up but I was just driving around with some friends and they drove by your house so I just told them to drop me off here. I knew you were home, your car is still in the driveway." A soft and happy voice calls out.

I glance back towards the door and see Alyson Warner shyly stepping into our foyer.

I sneer towards her, "_Hello _Alyson."

She glances at me, her dark blue eyes twinkling, "Hey Casey." She says with a smile, giving me a small wave with her perfectly manicured hand, before she turns back towards Sam and Derek, "Hey Sam…Derek, are you ready to go?"

Derek glares at both Sam and me before turning towards her and smirking, "I have a better idea."

Uh oh, that's never good.

"What is it?" Alyson asks confusingly.

"Why don't we double date?" he suggests, smirking evilly towards me.

That asshole!

I shake my head, "No…Sam and I have our own-"

"I'm up for it." Sam states, nodding his head towards the three of us.

I must remind myself to _kill_ him later.

Alyson smiles, "Sounds good to me." She turns her head towards me, "What do you say, Case?"

_Case? She did _not _just call me Case!_

I gulp before glancing at them, Derek is still smirking, "Fine, I guess."

I _know _I'm going to regret this, I just know it.

**-¤-**

"What topping do you want on the pizza, Casey?" Sam asks her as we sit at a booth at a local pizza joint.

Casey glances down at the menu, reading over the suggestions.

Oh please, she picks the same exact topping every single time we go out for pizza, why is she even bothering?

Sam eyes her, "Do you want-"

"She'll have the pepperoni and mushroom, thin crust, medium." I cut him off, saying to the waiter.

Casey shoots a glare up towards me at the same time that Sam does.

"Man, Derek… you know her pizza toppings just like that?"

I glare towards her, "After living with her for over two years, you learn that type of thing."

Casey glares at me before rolling her eyes and turning towards Sam, "I think I'm going to head to the girl's room." She says, sliding off of the booth and circling around the perimeter of booths and tables.

I glance towards Alyson before watching Casey walk off, my eyes focused on what part of her body; a certain _lower_ part of her body.

I snap out of my stupor and glance towards Alyson, "I think I'm going to go see what type of music they play on the jukebox." I state.

Alyson smiles at me and nods, sliding off of the booth and letting me through.

I give her a small smirk before nodding my head towards Sam and heading off in the same direction that Casey went.

Thank God the jukebox is in the same corridor as the washrooms.

-♥-

Ugh, Derek had _some _nerve ordering for me.

I can't believe he actually _remembers _what pizza topping I like!

That's insane…but sweet at the same time.

I really wish he wouldn't have asked Sam and I to go with him and Alyson to the restaurant, I'm getting sick and tired of seeing Alyson and him sharing smiles and giggling, and it doesn't help much that every time Sam and I exclude Derek in a conversation, he glares at me and then shoots daggers at Sam with his eyes.

It's almost as if he's _jealous_ or something!

Ha…yeah right.

I highly doubt that Derek Venturi _ever _gets jealous.

I turn on the faucet and let the cool water run over my hands before I splash it over my house, thank goodness I'm not wearing any mascara, it would kind of defeat the whole purpose of putting it on. Plus, I'd look like a raccoon.

I dry off my face with a paper towel and shake my head around, flipping my brown hair back over my shoulders before heading back towards the door of the bathroom and swinging it open.

Derek is standing at the door, leaning against the jukebox.

"Can I help you?" I ask annoyingly.

"You and Sam are getting cozy, now aren't you?"

I eye him confusingly, "_What_?"

"All the secret smiles and jokes, did you think I wasn't going to notice?"

"What are you _talking_ about?"

Derek rolls his eyes, pushing himself off of the jukebox and stepping closer towards me, "Well if I would have known that you guys were going to spend the entire night flirting with each other, I never would have invited you two."

My jaw drops, "Oh, bullshit Derek! You invited us along on this stupid date just to see us doing something like this." Derek stares me up and down as I continue my lecture, his eyes lingering on my lips, "I don't know _what_ your problem is, you're just such a jerk and all you care about is-"

I don't get to finish my sentence. I get cut off by Derek's lips crashing against my own.

**-¤-**

Damn, Casey looks so beautiful when she's pissed off.

I think that's what made me kiss her.

That's right. I, Derek Venturi, kissed Casey McDonald-my stepsister.

And I have to tell you, it feels _damn _good.

Casey struggles against me at first, as my lips crush against hers. She doesn't respond, just pounds her fists against my chest, trying to get me to let her go.

I don't, of course.

I sling one arm around her waist and circle the other one around her neck, pulling her closer towards me.

Her punching stops as her hands slide up around my neck, pushing my head towards her. I press my tongue against her closed lips and we begin a battle of dominance. I win of course, and my tongue slides into her mouth forcefully.

She groans against me and I slightly lift her up, staggering us into the washroom and pushing her up against the door as soon as it closes behind us. She wraps her arms around my neck tighter as she circles her legs around my waist.

I break my lips away from her own and slowly start of trail of kisses down to her neck. I can taste the perfume that she had lightly sprayed across her neck, it tastes like vanilla. I begin to press heated kisses around her neck, nipping and sucking.

She moans against me and begins to play with my hair, pulling my head back up to her lips as she kisses me deeper.

I groan against her, I never knew I wanted to kiss her this bad. I mean, sure, I've had dreams about her, dreams about kissing her and dreams about doing much _more_ than just kissing her-more times than one, in fact.

"_Derek_…" she whimpers against me, pressing against me tighter until we almost begin to crumple down to the floor.

"Mommy! I can't get in, the doors blocked!" a young girl's shrieking voice calls out.

Casey and I break apart and she jumps down, wiping her lips and staring at me in shock, "Oh my God…oh my God…oh my God…that didn't happen." She concludes.

I eye her confusingly as we back away from the door.

She glances at the door as it slowly begins to open and she pushes me into a bathroom stall, "Shut the door!" she hisses.

I roll my eyes and close the door behind me, leaning against it.

I listen as the girl says hello to Casey before she heads to a stall.

The stall door opens up and Casey pokes her head in, "Come on." She mouths towards me.

I follow her out of the stall and we head back into the washroom corridor.

"That _never_ happened Derek." Casey tells me as we stand by the jukebox.

I glance down at her neck, noticing the start of a hickey, "Looks like it did, Case." I say, nodding my head towards the spot.

Casey's eyes widen and she slaps her hand over her neck, "I could so kill you right now."

I roll my eyes, "You didn't exactly stop me from kissing you, now did you?"

Casey narrows her eyes at me and whips her hair around, her chestnut locks covering up the spot that marked her, "Go to Hell, Derek." She hisses before whipping around and stalking back towards the table.

I watch her walk off before running a hand through my hair and turning to the jukebox.

That's when it hits me.

I just made out with my_ stepsister_. My _stepsister_! Not to mention my best friend's date! Okay, making out with my stepsister sounds a _lot_ worse than making out with Sam's date.

Oh God, what did I just get myself into?

**-♥-**

As I sit back down at the booth, only one thought runs through my head.

I just made out with my stepbrother in a girl's washroom while on a date with his best friend.

"Hey, Case." Sam says with a smile as I slide back into the booth.

I glance towards him and give him a small smirk before twirling my straw around in my Pepsi.

What have I done?"

Derek returns back to the table, _Learn to Fly_ by the Foo Fighters now blasting through the speakers.

I look up at him, rubbing my neck nervously.

"Wow, Derek…took a long time to choose a song, didn't it?" Alyson asks, smiling towards him.

Derek nods shortly, "Uh yeah…sorry. I got _caught up _in something." He looks up at me as well. Our eyes lock and I can feel my heart hammering against my chest, my stomach fluttering.

Oh my God, what's happening to me?

Our pizza arrives, but I can hardly eat. He made me lose my appetite. Derek Venturi made me actually _lose_ my appetite.

I watch as Alyson smiles at Derek, slipping around him and kissing him on the cheek, whispering in his ear.

I gulp and glance down at my pizza disgustingly.

I crumple up my napkin and toss it down on my plate.

Sam eyes me confusingly, "Casey…are you okay?"

I gulp and look towards Derek and Alyson, who have now broken apart and are eyeing me confusingly.

I narrow my eyes at them before shooting my head towards Sam and gripping the front of his shirt, yanking towards me and pulling him into a deep kiss.

Sam cups his hands around my neck and kisses me deeper.

Sam isn't as good of a kisser as Derek.

Derek is much more passionate, and he's kind of rough. I like that about him. Sam just tries to hard and is just much more of a boring kisser than Derek is.

Oh God, I'm comparing my former crush's kissing to my stepbrother's kissing.

I am _pathetic._

As mine and Sam's kiss drags on (and on and on...), I open my right eye and glance at Derek, who is glaring at the two of us.

"That's enough!" his voice booms as soon as I look at him.  
Sam and I break apart and I glance at Derek evilly, "What's wrong Derek? Can't handle the PDA?"

Derek narrows his eyes at me, "We're leaving." He concludes.

Alyson's jaw drops, "But _Derek_…I haven't even started on my pizza yet!"

"Yeah, because you've been to busy purring in Derek's ear to even _notice _your food!"

"Well I haven't eaten my dinner yet either." Sam states.

Derek narrows his eyes, "Because you've been to busy playing tonsil hockey with my sister."

I correct him, "_Step_sister." _who you recently made out in the bathroom with_. I finish the sentence in my head.

I know that Derek is thinking the same thing that I was.

"Well, fine. Sam, you can take Alyson home in your car. Casey, I'm taking you home."

That jerk.

I roll my eyes and smile apologetically at Sam, "See you tomorrow." I say softly before Derek practically hauls me up and pushes me out of the restaurant.

**-¤-**

Casey gives me the silent treatment all the way home.

It isn't until we get upstairs and I begin to head into my bedroom that she finally speaks up.

"What is your _problem_?" she practically shouts at me, following me into my room.

I whip my head towards her, "What is _my_ problem? What is _your_ problem, _hot lips_?"

Thank God nobody else is home but us, they would probably think that we had committed a crime with the way we were shouting at each other!

Okay, so we did slightly commit a crime. Incest. But we're not actually _blood _related, so it's not _exactly_ incest…I don't think.

"_You _are my problem." She seethes, stepping up closer towards me and glaring up at me.

Well, I didn't exactly expect that comment.

"How am _I_ your problem?" I ask, glaring down at her. We are so close that the toes of our shoes are pressing against each other.

Casey rolls her eyes and groans, "Well for starters, you _attacked_ me in the bathroom-"

"In which you did _not_ stop me."

Casey narrows her eyes at me, "_Then, _you had the _nerve_ to start flirting with Alyson not even _three_ minutes afterwards!" she exclaims.

"Wow Casey, you actually sound _jealous_."

I can tell that she is taken aback, her face pales and she begins to shake her head rapidly, "I am _not_ jealous."

"Oh, really?" I smirk, "Because it seems like you are."

Casey places her hands on her hips, "Well, you don't know anything, obviously. Or else you would know that I was _not _jealous. What I showed at the restaurant was not _jealousy_, it was _disgust_."

I smirk down at her, "Whatever you say, Case."

I can tell she is getting annoyed at me by the way her lips purse.

"You're such an asshole, Derek."

"Well you weren't thinking that earlier tonight, now were-"

I get cut off by Casey's hand smacking against my cheek.

My head whips back and I lift my hand up to it and glance at her, "What the hell was that for?"

"Drop dead, Derek." She hisses before turning and stalking out of my bedroom.

Well, that went differently than I expected.

-**¤-**

**Ta-da! **

**Well, I updated faster this time! Haha :-p**

**R&R and please, no flames!**

**Lotsa love, degrassichick**


	10. Drama, Drama, Drama!

**Hey everyone! Thank you SO much for the reviews on this story and on my one-shot, Temporary Insanity. You guys are awesome!**

**Sorry that this update took me so long, really sorry! School just got out for summer and I am beyond bored, so of course, I should have been writing. But I couldn't think of anything to write. So I sat down and was like, "Now Sam, you are going to write this chapter." And then all of the ideas started flying through my brain and I just wrote them all down to give you guys a chapter 10! LoL…**

**R&R and please, no flames!**

**Lotsa love, degrassichick**

**-**♥**-**

**Chapter 10**

**-**♥-

"Casey?" Lizzie asks quietly, entering my bedroom.

I am lying facedown on my bed, my head buried in a mess of bright pillows, "What is it?" I grumble, not wanting to turn around to face her.

"Are you okay? You and Derek are acting really angry at each other." She says, sitting on the foot of my bed and looking at me.

I sigh and turn to face her, she notices that my face is tear-stained and she gasps, "What happened?"

I sniffle and shrug, "Tonight didn't go as expected."

Lizzie stares at me intently, "Why? What happened?"

I shake my head and shrug, "Don't worry about it, Liz."

Of course, Lizzie does the complete opposite and begins to fire out questions rapidly, "Did Derek do something to you? Did he annoy you? Was he rude? Did he-"

I hold up my hand to cut her off, "Lizzie, chill out. It doesn't matter."

"What did he do to you?" she asks worriedly.

_Oh nothing; just, you know, the normal stepsibling make out session in the bathroom, nothing too crucial._

I shake my head, "Nothing, Lizzie. Seriously, don't worry about it. I'm fine."

Lizzie stares at me as if I'm insane, "_This_ is your idea of fine? You're _crying_!"

"God, Lizzie! Can't you just take a hint? I'm _fine_!"

I can tell that Lizzie is taken aback by the way she leans away from me, "Um…okay. Well, if you want to talk…I'll be in my room…" she mumbles quietly before getting up from my bed and hurrying out of the room.

I watch as she closes the door behind herself before I throw myself back down on my bed and begin to cry once again.

**-¤-**

Casey is crying.

I can hear her sniffles and sobs from my room as I am lying down in bed. I'm not completely sure of what she is crying about, but I'm pretty sure that it's about me. Okay, I'm _sure_ that it's about me.

I roll over and try to block out the sound of her stifled sobs, but I can't.

Groaning, I lean over to my nightstand and grab my iPod, slipping the ear buds into my ear and turning a Hawk Nelson song up on full blast. Even through the loud guitars and drums, I can still hear Casey's crying. Not through my ears, but in my head. I know she is still crying and it is driving me nuts.

"Jesus, Case." I groan and press down on the play button of my iPod, turning it off before climbing out of my bed and staggering towards the door to my room, my digital alarm clock is flashing 2:26 in bright, red, lit up numbers.

I make my way into the hallway into the door, the sniffles louder. I can't believe Dad and Nora can't hear her! Why can't anybody but her hear me?

Maybe I'm the only one who is at fault, so I can hear her over everybody else. It's one of those guilty conscience things, I know it is. All because I grabbed her and kissed her (she didn't object, why am I the guilty one?), and then sassed off to her. All because of that, I can't sleep.

I turn the knob to her door and step inside her bedroom, closing the door quickly behind myself.

Her head shoots up and she glances around the dark room, the only light coming from the moonlight in her window, it flashes a streak of light over her bed and I make my way to it, sitting down.

"Was this all part of your diabolical plan to get me out of bed?" I ask with a laugh.  
She sniffles and eyes me confusingly, "Derek?"

I nod, "Did you expect somebody different?"

Even in the dark, I can tell that she just rolled her eyes at me, "What are you doing in here?"

"Are you nuts? I can't get to sleep with your incessant sobbing!" I whisper frustratingly.

Casey groans and throws her head back down against her pillows, "Well _sorry_ that I'm being such a nuisance to you."

"Why are you crying?"

Casey sniffles and runs a hand through her beautiful, dark hair that is just screaming for me to run my hands through, she shrugs. "Why do you think I'm crying?"

I shrug sheepishly, "Because you're hormonal?"

She throws a pillow at me, "Because you're insufferable."

My jaw drops jokingly, "How am I insufferable? Because you can't resist me?"

Casey scoffs, "Don't flatter yourself."

"Then how am I insufferable?"

Casey shakes her head and sniffles, "Never mind, just forget it. You can go back to bed; I'll try not to_ bother_ you."

I smirk, "Just as long as you promise to try and not bother me."

"Get out of here, Derek." She snaps.

I stand up from the bed, "Gladly." I scoff before stalking out of her room and closing the door quietly behind me.

As I step back into my room and close the door, I can only think of one thing.

That was the most confusing conversation I've _ever_ had.

-♥-

"Spare me just three last words; 'I love you' is all she heard…I'll wait for you, but I can't wait forever…" I sing softly to myself as I twirl in my locker combination the next morning.

My eyes are bloodshot and I have giant bags under them, I wouldn't have even gone to school today if there hadn't been a huge exam in history that I couldn't miss.

"Case, you don't look too good." Emily says worriedly, leaning against the locker beside me and looking at me sadly.

I sigh, "Just tired. That's all."

"How did the date go last night?" she asks weakly.

_Um…well, actually, not too bad._

"Horrible. I had to double date with Derek…again."

Emily's jaw drops and she laughs nervously, "Sorry, Case!"

I shrug, "What's done is done."

"Did Sam have as bad of a time as you did?" she asks.

I glance over my shoulder as I see Alyson leaning against his locker, smiling at him and laughing. What are they doing talking to each other? I mean, not that they can't _talk _to each other or anything but…well, it's just kind of bizarre.

"I actually have no idea." I conclude, "I'm guessing he didn't have a _miserable_ time…" I drift off.

She smirks and glances over towards Alyson, "Seems like the pairing wound up switching on that date."

Both ways, actually.

Of course, I just play stupid, "What do you mean?"

She shrugs, "Well, now Alyson and Sam are looking pretty cozy with each other. You think something is going on?"

I chuckle, "Between Sam and Alyson? I doubt it…I'm pretty sure she just has eyes for-" I eat my own words as I see Sam peck Alyson on the cheek before he saunters off down the hall, "-okay, maybe something _is_ going on."

Emily rests her hand on my shoulder, "Don't worry, Case. I'm sure Sam still likes you too. I mean, he wouldn't have gone on that date with you last night if he didn't like you."

Surprisingly, although she more than likely fears that I'm sad that Sam is no longer interested in me, I'm sad about that. In fact, if he likes Alyson, I could honestly care less. Because currently, only one guy is filling my thoughts. And his name isn't Sam. It's Derek.

Am I a horrible person or what?

…don't answer that.

**-¤-**

"Dude, I'm guessing last night didn't go as expected." My friend, Alex, from the hockey team says, patting me on the back as we all stand around the locker room for hockey practice.

I eye him confusingly, "What are you talking about, man?"

His dark eyes widen, "Uh…D, you haven't heard?"

"Heard what?" I ask.

"Last night, after the date, Sam and Alyson hooked up."

"They did not…" I scoff.

He shakes his head, "They seriously did. You weren't here early this morning; they were kissing by her locker."

I'm surprised that I'm not more upset about this. But I guess that's because I'm not really all that interested in Alyson Warner anymore…my head is only filled with thoughts of one girl. One girl that goes by the name of, as horrible as it is, Casey McDonald.

"Oh." I say flatly.

Alex's jaw drops, "That's it? You're not going to deck him or anything for stealing your girl?"

I eye him stupidly, "Uh. No." I shake my head.

Alex groans and shouts out to the locker room, "Bets off guys. Derek isn't as pissed as we all hoped."

Scattered groans are heard throughout the locker room and I turn and give Alex a blank look, "What was that all about?"

Alex sighs frustratingly, "A bunch of us guys were placing bets on you and Sam getting into a fight over Alyson over practice, we were betting on who would win."

I nod my head slowly, "_Okay_…" I say slowly.

Alex shrugs, "But whatever." He says shortly before throwing his practice jersey on over his head and slamming his locker shut.

Just then, the door to the locker room swings open and Sam jogs in, hurrying to the locker close to mine and twirling in his combination hurriedly.

"How's the love life going, Sammy?" Jason Davis shouts out before him and his best friend, Nathan Johnson, high five each other and laugh.

Sam rolls his eyes before turning to me and smiling at me sheepishly, "I hope you're not pissed at me for moving in on Alyson."

I shake my head, "Shouldn't be me your worried about," I say, slamming my locker shut, "it should be Casey."

Sam eyes me confusingly, "Why Casey?"

I scoff and shoot him an angrier glare than I probably should have, "Because for some reason that I do _not_ under any circumstances understand, she's interested in you."

Sam laughs and shakes his head at me, "Not even."

My turn to be confused, "What are you talking about?"

"Casey is _not_ interested in me." He scoffs, "I know that, she knows that, _Alyson_ knows that."

Wait, he knows something about Casey that _I_ don't know?

"What?"

Sam rolls his eyes, "Casey McDonald isn't into me. In fact, Alyson isn't even into you."

My jaw drops, "Wait, _what_?"

"We planned that whole thing." He laughs, "I can't believe you didn't know that."

My eyes widen, "You mean…Alyson already _knew_ that she was going to be going on a date with me last night?"

Sam grins and nods, "Yup. And when Casey asked me on the date for last night, which I pretty much _knew_ she was going to do sooner or later, I filled her in that I already had a girlfriend and she was cool with it."

"So…was everything from last night planned? Like the kiss between you and Casey?" my blood begins to boil as I remember how heartbroken I had felt when I had seen the two of them kissing.

Sam shakes his head, "I didn't expect that. But Alyson didn't care."

"So you guys didn't reveal to the school that you were dating until-"

"This morning." Sam cuts me off, "We were just going to keep it a secret for awhile, but after last night…we just let it loose. Of course, everybody thinks that we just hooked up to spite you and Casey, but oh well." He says, flashing me a grin and laughing.

I run a hand through my hair, I feel both confused and moronic.

Sam pats me on the back, "C'mon, we can't miss all of practice, no matter how much we want to." He says with a laugh before jogging out of the locker room.

I run a hand through my hair, make a mental note to talk to Casey tonight, and follow Sam out of the locker room.

The funny thing is, I'm not even _planning_ on asking her about Sam and Alyson.

No, I'm planning on something _much_ different…

-♥-

"You _lia_r!" I screech to Sam over the phone that night, "I never knew that you and Alyson were going out. Why did you tell that to Derek?"

Sam laughs, "Sorry, Case. Just figured it'd be more fun between you and Derek if he thought that you were a backstabbing-"

"You jerk." I snap, but I'm laughing right along with him.

Just then, I hear the front door swing open and slam shut.  
Sam can hear it on the other line, "Stepbrother dearest is home. This conversation is bound to be interesting."

I roll my eyes, "And all thanks to you."

Sam chuckles, "That's what I'm here for. See you tomorrow, Case."

I laugh, "Bye." I say before clicking off the phone and tossing it on my bed.

I can hear Derek entering my bedroom and I turn around to face him before he can say anything or ask any questions, "Before you do or say anything, I just wanted to let you know that I had no idea about Sam and Aly…" I drift off as I notice the look in his eyes, a look I've never seen before, a look of hunger and desire, a look that can send shivers up and down your spine and scare the living hell out of you at the exact same time. "Why are you looking at me like that?" I ask confusingly.

It is then that I get my answer.

For as soon as I ask the question, he grabs me and kisses me.

And I don't plan on pulling away anytime soon.

-♥-

**Ta-da! LoL…sorry that it took me awhile to update!**

**My friend is coming here to visit for two weeks starting on Sunday, so I'm not sure if I'm going to have a lot of time to write, so I'm going to try and write Chapter Eleven before she comes and get it posted! Hopefully I'll have it done!**

**Once again, sorry for the longish update!**

**R&R and please, no flames!**

**Lotsa love, degrassichick**


	11. Author's Note, sorry!

**Hey readers!**

**Wow, this is the first time I've ever actually had to write an author's note on here…I feel so horrible for not updating on this story!**

**Let's just say that my two week visit with my friend had some very unexpected twists, which have been the main cause of me not updating. **

**I just found out that my mom has breast cancer. I'm a nervous wreck and so scared that I can hardly even think…I've been traveling back and forth between my home and hospitals, and I have to go out of town again this week. **

**I will try to update on the story as soon as I can…I'm sorry!**

**Lotsa love,**

**degrassichick**


	12. Find Out For Yourself

**(cue creepy Poltergeist voice) _I'm back…_**

**So sorry about the long update, but I just wanted to say THANK YOU for all of the comments I received on my Author's Note, you guys seriously made me have tears in my eyes! Thank you so much for caring and understanding, it really means a lot to me! My mom goes into surgery in a few weeks, and then it's a really bumpy chemo-filled road after that, but thank you so much for the support!**

**And without further ado, here is Chapter 11.**

**Hope you like!**

**R&R and please, no flames!**

**Lotsa love,**

**degrassichick**

**P.S. I'm over 200 reviews--woot! Thank you so much you guys, you are amazing! XD**

**-**♥-

**Chapter 11**

**-**♥-

I am sitting at the breakfast table, spinning my spoon around in my bowl of cereal when a notebook is slammed down right next to me.

"Here," says Lizzie, "it's a chart of you and Derek from this week."

I dab at my mouth with a napkin before picking up the notebook and reading over it:

**Casey**

Brian

Chuck

Brian (different Brian)

Carter

Sam

**Total: 5**

**----**

**Derek**

Claire

Tiffanie

Tiffanie (again-doesn't count for D's score)

Becca (opponent did not meet date-date does not count)

Alyson

**Total: 3**

I smirk, "So I'm winning?"

Lizzie nods, "Yup, by two...but Derek could _still_ catch up pretty easily. So if you want to actually beat Derek in the long run, then you're really going to have to kick it up a notch."

I nod, "True…wait a minute, aren't you on Derek's side?"

Lizzie shrugs, "Yes, but I'm _your_ sister…just don't tell Derek that you've been getting hidden advice from the enemy."

I roll my eyes, "This isn't Mission: Impossible, Liz. I think you're allowed to talk to me."

Lizzie laughs, "Not taking any chances." She says before scooping her notebook off of the table and making her way into the living room.

I let out a sigh and think of what Lizzie said, _"If you want to actually beat Derek in the long run, then you're really going to have to kick it up a notch."_

Agreed…but how?

-**¤-**

"Babe Raider strikes again!" Sam laughs from beside me as we stand at our lockers.

I eye him confusingly, "What are you talking about?"

Alyson, who stands at the other side of him, points a perfectly manicured finger in the direction of people coming towards us.

I look over and my jaw drops-as well as all the books in my hand.

Casey is, once again, dressed as Babe Raider…sort of.

She is wearing a black top that rides about four inches above her belly button with a sandblasted denim mini skirt and platform black heels. She is even wearing a fake belly ring and has her hair up in a very high ponytail and is wearing _way_ too much makeup.

I feel my muscles tense at all the guys gawking at her before I stalk over to her and grab her arm, hauling her into a deserted classroom.

"What the _hell_ are you wearing?" I exclaim as the door shuts behind us.

"Um…clothes." Casey sasses.

"But _why_ are you wearing…_those_ clothes?"

Casey flashes a sly grin at me, "What's wrong, Derek? Scared about all the _attention_ that I'll be getting? At all the _dates_ that I'll get because of it?"

I shake my head in disbelief, "That is cheating."

Casey scoffs and flicks a hand in the air, "It is not."

"Why are you acting like this?" I ask disappointedly.

Casey rolls her eyes at me, "Because…I want to beat you."

"But _why_? Can't you just be normal and try to win?"

Just then, the door to the classroom opens and Aaron Jenkins, a member of the lacrosse team, comes up to us and puts his arms around Casey, nuzzling his face into her neck.

"Wh-what are you doing? Why are you touching her like that?" I ask nervously.

Aaron gives me a cocky grin, "Derek, don't feel bad. You're just not Casey's type."

Casey laughs, "He's not even on my level on the evolution chart!"

Aaron grins, "Exactly." He says, glancing up at me before beginning to nibble on her earlobe.

"Sorry Derek." Casey grins before the two leave the classroom, Casey begins to mutter as they walk away, "Derek, Derek, Derek…"

-

"DEREK!" a voice exclaims loudly.

I shoot up in bed and look at Casey who is hovering over me, her arms crossed over her red and white baseball style tee.

My eyes widen, she isn't dressed as a slut!

"Where's Aaron?" I ask rudely.

Casey eyes me like I belong in an insane asylum, "Aaron? Aaron _Jenkins_? How the hell would I know?"

"You mean…you're not…"

_Oh my God._ It was a dream.

"I'm not what?" Casey asks confusingly, "I just came in here to wake you up. You don't even have twenty minutes to get ready for school, so hurry up, will you? I need a ride."

I feel myself actually smiling at her as she bosses me around, before I get up and head out of my room and into the bathroom.

-♥-

"The first thing he says to me when I wake up this morning is 'where's Aaron?'." I bluntly tell Emily as the two of us stand at my locker.

Emily eyes me confusingly, "'As in Aaron Jenkins, Aaron?"

I nod, "He makes no sense and he sounded all angry when he said it. I have no idea what's wrong with him."

Just then a huge grin spread across Emily's face, "I think I know."

"Huh?" I ask confusingly.

She grins even wider, "Derek has a crush on you."

I choke on my own air, "What?"

Emily laughs, "Well it explains a lot. If he sounded angry when he said it and he's been acting beyond weird around you, it all leads to a crush."

"Emily, please. Derek is my _stepbrother_."

_Yeah, like that stopped you from making out with him—twice._

"I'm just saying. I mean, I've had a crush on Derek for…well, forever. So I can definitely sense when he has a crush, and he sounds like he has one on you." Emily says factually, "Speak of the beyond hot devil." She murmurs. As if on cue, Derek and Sam walk by us.

I turn to face him; as soon as my eyes meet Derek's, he shoots his head towards the ground while Sam shoots us a confused look before walking off with him.

Emily grins at me and flounces away from my locker, "Told you."

"Wait a minute!" I call out, hurrying after her, "What do I do?"

"About the fact that your stepbrother has a crush on you?" she asks.

Quit saying that!

"Whatever. I only have five dates so far and I need ten more by the end of the week…I only have a couple days to get_ ten_ dates, Emily! _Ten_!"

Emily grins, "No problem."

My jaw drops, "No problem? You did _not_ just say 'no problem'."

Emily nods, "All you have to do is snag a few dates and somehow get them back to back."

"How am I going to do that?" I ask confusingly.

She grins, "Simple." She says and she leads me to Frank (Derek's Frank)'s locker.

He turns to me and backs away, "What does Derek want?" he asks cautiously.

Emily smirks at him, "Derek doesn't want anything, Frank. Don't worry."

Frank sighs, "Then what do you two want?"

Emily rams her elbow into my stomach-hard.

"Uh…" I stammer, "Are you doing anything after school?"

He eyes me confusingly, "No…why?"

"Do you want to go to a movie…or something?" I shoot him a flirtatious smile and try to bat my eyelashes.

He laughs at my pathetic flirting skills before cracking a grin and smiling, "Sure. Right after school…I'll meet you at your locker." He says with a smile before brushing past me and heading off down the hallway.

I spin around to face Emily and grin, "Thank you!" I say and give her a high five.

"Now all you have to do is ask out a few losers from the chess team and you're pretty much set." She says just as the bell rings, "But we'll have to do that sometime after first period." She says with a laugh before the two of us link arms and head off to our first class of the day.

-**¤-**

"I have to get twelve more dates to beat Casey, Sammy. Twelve more dates." I groan.

Sam shrugs, "Any girl in this school will practically fall over you. What are you so worried about?"

I shrug and tilt my head back, "I have no idea, man."

"I can start hooking you up with some girls, if you want."

I shoot my best friend a dead glare, "Do you _honestly_ think that I need _your_ help to get a date?"

Sam slightly backs away, "Dude, I was just asking."

"Hey Sam, hey Derek." Alyson says, coming up to us, resting her hand on Sam's arm, "Derek, are you alright?"

"He needs twelve more dates to beat Casey. And he needs them by Friday."

Her jaw drops, "That's like, six dates a day just to be even."

I nod, "I know."

"There are some girls on the cheerleading squad…if you want me to ask around for you…"

I groan, "Again, I do _not_ need people getting dates for me."

She laughs and rolls her eyes, "Okay, Derek…just enjoy your date when Casey matches you up with the leader of the Mathletes."

My heart drops to the pit of my stomach as I whip my head towards her, "She wouldn't really do that…would she?"

She giggles, "You never know with Casey…oops, gotta go or I'm going to be late for bio." She pecks Sam on the lips, "See ya. Bye Derek." She says before turning and walking off down the hall.

Sam lets out a happy sigh as he watches her walk away; I swat him in the arm, "Sammy, focus. What am I supposed to do?"

He scoffs, "How should I know? You're the one who shot down my help as _soon _as I offered it to you."

I roll my eyes and slam my head against my locker.

"You need my help, don't you?" Sam asks, a grin spreading widely over his face.

I glare towards him, "What do you think?"

He just smirks at me.

Damn it, he's seriously going to make me _beg_.

I whip around and yank him by his shirt collar, shaking him back and forth, "Help me!"

Sam laughs at my desperate plead before nodding, "Alright, alright…since you asked so _nicely_."

"Pair me up with any losers and your _dead_." I threaten him before turning and walking off down the hallway.

"So Ingrid Farmer from the Future Entomologists of Canada will work, right?" Sam calls after me sarcastically.

I flip my middle finger up proudly before stalking into the math classroom.

-♥-

"Hey Casey." Frank says, coming up behind me towards my locker.

I smirk and spin around, "Hey Frank…ready to go?"

He shuffles his hands into his pockets, "Ready when you are."

I smile at him before my eyes shift towards Derek and Sam, who are walking down the hallway, talking about the newest song from Hawk Nelson.

Sam nudges him and Derek looks towards us, his mouth falling agape.

_In your face, Venturi; he's the second friend of yours that I'm going out with._ I smirk at him proudly and evilly as he steps towards us.

"Frank, what are you doing with _Casey_?" he stammers, eyeing the two of us warily.

"Getting ready to take her to the movies." Frank replies simply.

"Casey?" his voice squeaks as he glares towards me.

I grin at him, wiggling my fingers at him in a sarcastic wave.

Frank glances towards me, "We better go, I have to be home by six."

Derek scoffs and rolls his eyes, but I can see that he is completely dieing inside.

I nod, "See you at home Derek, bye Sam." I say before latching onto Frank's hand and practically yanking him down the hallway.

**-¤-**

"She's with _Frank._ Of all people to go out with, she chooses _Frank_. Frank!" I groan out towards Sam as I pull into his driveway.

Sam rolls his eyes, "You've been saying that for the past eight minutes, Derek. I get it. Casey is on a date with Frank."

I throw my hands up in the air, "_I know!_ With Frank! How can she be on a date with Frank?"

Sam shakes his head in disbelief, "If it bothers you so much, just ask out Emily."

I shake my head furiously, "I may be desperate, but I'm sure as hell not delusional."

"Come on Derek, the girl likes you."

I point my finger at him, "Likes is an understatement. She's _obsessed_ with me."

"Well there is one girl whose stomach would turn inside out if she saw you and Emily together."

I scoff, "Oh yeah? Who?"

Sam grins, "Casey."

My eyes widen, "Why would Casey care? Just because Emily's her best friend?"

Sam shakes his head at me, that stupid Cheshire Cat grin still planet on his smug face, "She'd be jealous."

"What?" I ask confusingly.

"Man, Derek. You are _dense_." Sam says as he climbs out of my SUV.

"What do you mean by that?" I ask, eyeing him warily.

Sam shrugs his shoulders at me with a smile on his face, "Figure it out for yourself, D." he says before turning and jogging into his house.

"_Figure it out for yourself, D_." I mimic him to myself as I pull out of his driveway.

-♥-

Okay. That was instinctively the _worst_ date of my life.

Yes, it was worse than Chuck.

All Frank did the _entire_ time was flirt with other girls; he showed hardly _any_ interest in me. He just kept looking at this African American girl with glasses who was sitting a few rows ahead of us with this geeky looking kid and some girl with long blonde hair. The girl kept turning and glaring at him and he kept trying to catch her attention and every time she shot him down, he stared at his feet.

She's from Degrassi-a school in Toronto.

Apparently the three of them are here for some research project or something, I'm not sure. I was only catching bits and pieces of the conversation as Frank hauled us up to them after the movie. The only remotely entertaining one out of the bunch was this girl named Emma. And all I really did with her was exchange MySpace addresses.

On the way back to my house, all he did was talk about how he wished he would have talked more with Liberty.

I threw my water bottle at him as soon as we hit my driveway.

I stalk into the house and let out an angry sigh.

Mom glances at me, "How was your date, Casey?"

"Fine." I grumble before stalking upstairs.

Not sure why I am so upset, I'm not even remotely interested in Frank. But what he did today was just…disrespectful.

As soon as I enter my bedroom, Derek is sitting on my bed, flipping through a magazine that I had sitting on my nightstand.

"Can I help you with something?" I ask rudely, pressing my hands on my hips.

Derek doesn't glance up from the magazine, I can tell he isn't even paying any attention to it, he's just trying to avoid looking at me…the jackass.

"How was the date?" he asks in a bored tone.

"It sucked, thanks for asking." I say, plopping down on my computer chair and kicking off my sandals.

Derek sighs, "Good to know." He says unenthusiastically.

"Is there something you want, or are you just in here to make my night even worse?"

Derek shrugs, "Not sure."

"Well then, get out." I point my finger towards my bedroom door.

Derek looks up at me, sitting the magazine facedown on my bed, "So you're beating me by three now?"

"I guess so." I say with a shrug, "So unless you want me to pair you up with somebody, I suggest you hurry up and pick up your slack."

Just then, George taps on the door, poking his head in, "Hey, you two. We were getting ready to go out to dinner, you guys coming with?"

Before I can answer, an IM pops up from Emily.

_HopelessRomantic27: **Another date. 7 PM-meeting at DiMaggio's.**_

I turn to face George, "Where at?"

"Figured we'd go swing by DiMaggio's, get some pizza, maybe some pasta. You two up for it?"

I whip back around to the PC.

_MissSaveTheWorld07: **Count me in.**_

-¤-

**Well…there's Chapter 11.**

**Not sure when I will update again, but I'm sure it will be before my mom's surgery! I'm so sorry that it took me so long to update, I've just been BEYOND stressed out. And as soon as the stress started to fade, the author's block kicked in. So, I'm really sorry!**

**Not sure if you noticed my small hinge of a crossover between Degrassi and Life with Derek. I only did that, however, strictly for the reason that Ryan Cooley (Frank on LWD) plays JT on Degrassi, so I figured I'd throw in Emma, Liberty, and Toby. LoL :-p **

**Anyways, hope you liked! Sorry…again!**

**R&R and please, no flames!**

**Lotsa love,**

**degrassichick**


	13. How Does It Feel?

**Hey everyone! Thanks for the reviews of the last chapter, you guys are awesome!**

**So, did you guys all see the new LWD episode? I thought it was really cute, but I was _so_ pulling for Dasey fluff…but did I get any? Hardly. LoL…which is why I put Dasey interaction-fluff in this chapter, haha.**

**Anyways, R&R and please, no flames!**

**Lotsa love,**

**degrassichick**

**-**♥**-**

**Chapter 12**

**-**♥-

"Well? Who is it?" I hiss at Emily into my cell phone as we enter DiMaggio's.

"Who is who, Casey?" Marti asks, glancing up at me with a puzzled expression on her face.

I shake my head, "It's nothing Marti, don't worry about it."

She shrugs, "Smerek!" she calls out and races towards Derek.

I smile softly before tuning back into my conversation with Emily.

"He said that he is going here tonight with his family and that he will meet you at the booth nearest the washrooms at 7:05."

I glance down at my watch and it blares 7:02 at me…I have three minutes.

"Okay, you better not have paired me up with anybody that will force me to regret our friendship, Em." I warn her.

She giggles on the other end, "Don't worry Casey…"

As I press the _end_ button on my phone, I can hear Emily's voice, "…at least I hope not."

_Well, that's never good_.

As we get seated at our booth, I glance down at my watch once again. It's 7:04.

"Will you excuse me?" I ask quietly and excuse myself from the table.

Time to go meet Mr. Mystery.

**-¤-**

_Where is Casey going?_

I look back at her as she walks away from the booth and heads back towards the washroom area.

Ross Bingham is sitting at a booth by himself.

Poor loser couldn't even get a date.

Well, he is the President of the Future Scientists of Canada society…and an avid member of the chess team…so I guess it all makes sense.

Wait a minute, Casey is walking towards him.

She's sitting down across from him.

Why is she sitting down across from him?

As she sits down in the booth, all I can see is the top of their heads, so I get up on my knees to look over.

"Derek, what are you doing?" Nora asks confusingly.

I wave my hand at her, "Nothing, don't worry about it."

Just then, a figure pops up beside me.

"Hi Smerek!" Marti says excitedly.

I give her a small smirk, "Hey Smarti." I say before turning my head back towards Casey and Ross.

Casey covers up her mouth with her napkin, closing her eyes.

Oh my God…he made her cry.

I begin to scoot away from the booth just as her napkin disappears and a smile is shining on her face.

She's laughing.

The captain of the chess team, is making _my_ Casey laugh.

Wait a second…

Did I just say _my Casey_?

**-**♥-

I walk over by the washrooms, and am surprised to see Ross Bingham sitting at a booth by himself.

He looks up at me and smiles, "Casey, hello there" he says happily, his brown eyes sparkling.

I give him a soft smile, "Hey Ross."

"So I'm guessing you're my date…" he clarifies.

I sit down across from him, "Guess so."

"Well, of all the pizza joints in the world, I'm glad we got paired up in this one." He says, looking around the Italian restaurant. Red and white checkered table cloths lay over each table, the restaurant is lit by candles and lanterns, Dean Martin is crooning through the speakers, and the walls are decked out with vintage advertisements for Italian restaurants and clubs.

I give him a small smile.

Ross proceeds to tell me a story about what happened in biology today and I cracked up when I heard about the frog that landed on Mr. Bengali's head.

I glance up at Ross with a smile on my face.

Finally, a normal date!

Just then, out of the corner of my eye, I can see Derek glaring at me from across the room.

I give him an expression that says '_ha-ha_' before turning towards Ross and grinning, piping up yet another conversation.

**-¤-**

"Where did Casey wander off to?" Dad asks, glancing around the restaurant.

I hike my thumb back towards where Casey and Ross are sitting, "Emily paired her up on a date tonight; she's back there with Ross Bingham."

Lizzie glances at Dad and Nora, "This is supposed to be a family dinner."

I smirk at her, "How nice of you to notice. Why don't I make it a family dinner and go get my…I mean, Casey back over here?" I suggest.

Nora sighs, "I'd hate to ruin her date."

"Where's Casey?" Marti asks excitedly, pounding her fists on the table.

"That settles it, I'm going to get her." I say and get up from the table.

As I make my way past the salad bar, I feel a hand gripping my wrist.

I turn around and am face to face with Edwin.

"Can I help you?" I ask.

Edwin rolls his eyes nudging his head towards Casey, "Why are you trying to ruin her night?"

I scoff, "I'm not trying to ruin her night. This is a family dinner, she's part of the family, and she's being unfair to us."

"Oh _please_." Edwin laughs, "You miss tons of family events because of dates or plans with your friends, so why should it matter if she does it just this once? You're the only one who actually cares. None of us mind that she's over there and not with us."

I nod towards Lizzie, "She cared."

Edwin shakes his head, "Lizzie didn't care, she was just curious as to where Casey was."

I roll my eyes, "Well, I'm going to go get Casey anyways." I say and begin to walk towards the booth.

"She's not going to like you anymore than she already doesn't if you do this, Derek." Edwin's words stop me.

I turn to face him, "Excuse me?"

Edwin scoffs, "The entire human _world_ by now probably knows that you're in love with Casey."

_How the…?_

I gulp, stepping towards him, "What the hell are you talking about, Edwin?"

"You're into her. Everybody knows. But this _really_ isn't the way to express your feelings towards her, its just going to make her hate you."

"What _feelings_?" I exclaim, "I don't have any feelings for Casey. God, Edwin! She's my _stepsister_ for crying out loud."

It's at that moment that I realize how loud we have been talking.

The entire restaurant is staring at us, Casey and Ross included.

Edwin looks up at me, "Well, now you might just have a chance to tell her how you feel." He whispers.

I narrow my eyes at him, glaring, "Shut up."

-♥-

"What _feelings_?" I hear a guy's voice who sounds very familiar to Derek exclaim, "I don't have any feelings for Casey. God, Edwin! She's my _stepsister_ for crying out loud."

Oh my God.

It is Derek.

I whip my head towards him and watch as his ears begin to turn red, as he glances around the room nervously.

Edwin leans in and whispers something towards him and Derek glares at him before stalking off outside the restaurant.

I sigh, shaking my head in disbelief.

Ross laughs, "Well that was odd."

I look out the giant windows of the restaurant and see Derek running his hands through his hair frustratingly.

Ross catches my stare, "Go."

I turn my head, "What?"

"Go see what's wrong with him."

"But our date-"

He shakes his head, "Don't worry about it. We haven't even gotten our drinks yet, so it's no big deal. I had fun tonight though, Casey."

I give him a small smile, "Me too…rain check?"

He laughs and glances back at Derek, "With him around, I don't really think we'll make it to a rain check." He says.

I eye him confusingly before he waves his hand off towards to door, "I'll see you around, Casey."

Smiling at him confusingly, I get up from the table, "See you."

**-¤-**

"That was, uh…quite the outburst, Derek." A cool and very familiar voice says from behind me as I prepare to beam my head up against the brick wall of the restaurant.

I turn my head to face Casey, "So I'm easily upset at times, sue me."

She laughs, her blue eyes twinkling in from under the street light as she makes her way closer towards me.

"Well, my date didn't count." She says with a sigh, plopping down on the bench.

"Why?" I ask confusingly.

She sighs, "You didn't meet him."

"Ah…" I say with a laugh, "Well I was getting ready to…until Ed stopped me."

She laughs, "Well, that's alright. I'm beating your ass anyways, so…"

I narrow my eyes at her and she grins.

"What was with the outburst though?" she asks confusingly.

I shrug, "I don't know…I guess I got…well…I…" oh my God, I'm stammering. I'm seriously stammering.

_Unbelievable_.

"You got what?" she asks confusingly.

I suck in a deep breath, "Jealous, okay? I got jealous."

A smile forms over Casey's pink lips, "You were jealous?" she asks, almost excitedly.

I roll my eyes, "Yeah." I grumble.

She laughs.

"Glad you find this so amusing." I mutter.

She smirks, "A girl is always going to find that flattering, Derek."

I turn my head to face her, "You included?"

She looks down at the ground bashfully before looking up at me with half-lidded eyes and nodding, "Yes. Me included."

I gulp and slowly begin to lean in closer towards her.

"Derek…" she whispers, leaning in closer as well.

I slowly put my hand against her neck as we are practically nose to nose. I can feel her breath against me; it smells like a stick of spearmint Orbit gum.

"We can't do this." She whispers, her eyes slowly fluttering shut.

"Yeah, I know." I whisper back towards her as our lips are a mere millimeter apart.

"There you two are!" a voice cuts us off.

Casey shoves me away from her, practically sending me flying off of the bench as she leaps up.

"Hey George." Casey says, brushing off her jeans.

"You guys ready to come in, the waiter is getting ready to take our orders." Dad says.

Casey nods, "Uh…yeah…I'm starved." Casey says and begins to make her way inside; I'm at her feet, Dad giving me a curious look that I shrug off.

As we enter the restaurant, Ross comes into view as he comes towards us.

"Oh, hi Ross." Casey says with a smile.

Ross smiles, "Hey Casey." He turns towards me, "Derek…Casey's date doesn't count unless you meet me, so…hey, I'm her…well, _was_ her date tonight."

Casey gives him a small smile before turning towards me as my face pales.

"Thanks Ross, see you in school." She says before we head back towards our table.

Great, now my ego is _completely_ deflated.

-♥-

"So how did the date go last night?" Emily asks as we stand at my locker.

I sigh, thinking back to how I almost kissed Derek, "Fine. Ross was pretty nice."

"So now you're beating Derek by…?"

"Four." I declare.

Emily squeals, "Case, that is great! You are _so_ going to win this."

I smile weakly, "Yeah, I hope so." I say as I see Derek leaning against a sophomore's locker, telling her something.

She grins and nods.

Emily catches what I am looking at, "Looks like he's getting himself back in the game…" she says slowly.  
Derek walks by me and smirks, "Sorry Case, looks like you're only beating me by three now."

I scoff, "Still beating you." I say over my shoulder as he walks away from me.

Emily smiles, "Just keep it confident, that way you're sure to beat him." The bell rings, "Look, I'll set you up with more dates today; I'll try to squeeze in like…three or something. Since tomorrow's Friday, you might be able to still win this." She says before waving at me and walking off down the hallway.

I sigh frustratingly and close my locker.

I hope so.

**-¤-**

"Case, this is Bianca…my date." I say proudly, coming up to Casey's locker at lunch time.

Casey turns to face us, "Okay, great. Why are you introducing me to her now?" she asks drowsily.

"Because I'm taking her out to lunch, that's our date. I'm taking her to Millbrook's." I say, referring to the coffee house I'm taking Bianca too.

Her head perks up, "Oh…okay. Have fun." She says before closing her locker and taking off down the hallway.

Bianca scoffs, "What's her problem?"

I look down at her and smile, "I may never know." I say before wrapping my arm around her shoulder and leading her out the doors.

-♥-

"Em!" I yell after Emily as she stands at her locker.

She squeals and turns to face me, "Gosh, Casey! Give me a heart attack, why don't you?"

"Sorry, but I just realized something." I say hurriedly.

She eyes me confusingly, "What?"

"I can make a date during lunch." I say happily, "That way I can still be beating him by four, because he's going on a date with Bianca Diaz right now so if I get a lunch date with a guy right now, that means that I could squeeze in like three or four dates today, which means I'd be beating him by like, seven."

Emily laughs, "Then what are you waiting for? Hurry up and find a guy!"

Of course, me being the desperate girl that I am, I go for the first guy I see.

His name is Mark Rochester and he is in my history class.

"Hey Mark." I say with a smile, making my way towards his locker.

"Hey Casey." He says coolly, turning to smile at me.

"So, listen, Derek and I have this bet going on-"

"Who can get fifteen dates before the other?" he cuts me off.

I eye him confusingly, "Um, yeah…how did you know that?"

"Derek was talking about it with Sam in the locker room during gym…do you need help beating him?"

"You're offering?" I ask excitedly.

"You were asking me anyways, weren't you?"

I grin, "Yeah, I know just the place to go to." I say as he closes his locker.

"Where?" he asks as the two of us walk off down the hallway.

"Millbrook's Coffee House."

-**¤-**

"Isn't that your stepsister?" Bianca asks confusingly as we sit down at a pub table at Millbrook's.

"Where?" I ask confusingly, glancing around.

She points a perfectly manicured finger in the direction of the restaurant's entrance, "Over there…with Mark."

I whip my head around. Sure enough, Casey is standing proudly beside Mark Rochester.

Of course.

Bianca waves her hands at them.

"What are you doing?" I hiss.

"Mark is awesome." She says with a grin, "Mark, Casey, over here!" she says excitedly.

I overlap my hands on the table and rest my head down.

This is _not_ going as planned.

-♥-

"Oh, there's Bianca and Derek. Let's go sit by them." Mark says, grabbing my hand and leading us towards Derek's table.

"I'd really rather not…" I say cautiously.

Mark sighs, "C'mon, Casey, this'll be fun."

I wince, "That's what I'm afraid of." I say as we sit on the other two stools at the table.

Derek glances over at me out of the corner of his eye, "Hey Casey."

"Derek." I say with a nod of acknowledgement.

"Hey Derek." Mark says.

I nod towards him shortly.

Bianca immediately turns to Mark and pipes up a conversation with him, the two of them completely ignoring me and Derek.

Derek sighs, "Well, this is good."

I laugh, "Yeah, definitely."

"Well, since we've both met each other's dates, maybe we should just get out of here, doesn't seem like they're really in any position to be away from each other."

"These hardly even count as dates though." I whisper.

Derek shrugs, "So? Still counts doesn't it?"

I look towards Bianca and Mark, as she rests her head on his shoulder and giggles, "Good point, let's get out of here."

-**¤-**

**Well, there it is! So what'd you think?**

**R&R and please, no flames!**

**I'll try to get another chapter up before we leave for my mom's surgery…**

**Happy 4th of July!**

**Lotsa love,**

**degrassichick**


	14. Think of Me Tonight

**Hey reviewers. Sorry about the long update (once again). I just wanted to thank you guys on your reviews and wishes towards my mom; they really meant a lot to me. As I stated in a review from Chapter 12, my mom had her surgery and was in mortal pain. But luckily, the pain will fade. And the good news is that she might not have to go through chemo, which is amazing.**

**Anyways, thank you so much for all the reviews, you guys are _amazing_.**

**Sorry, once again, for having such a long update!**

**Here is Chapter 13…hope you like!**

**R&R and please, no flames!**

**This chapter gets very…emotional. Not crying emotional, kind of PMS emotional…LoL, you'll just have to read it to see.**

**Lotsa love,**

**degrassichick**

**-**♥**-**

**Chapter 13**

**-**♥-

Derek and I are barely pulling out of the driveway of Millbrook's when my cell phone vibrates against my thigh. I recognize the ring tone as the one that I had set for whenever Emily calls-which was just about every other hour.

I pull it out of my pocket and lift it to my ear, "Hey Em."

"Okay, so you can call me a saint." Emily laughs.

"Why?" I ask curiously.

I can tell Emily is grinning on the other end of the phone, "I got you _four_ dates for today."

My jaw drops, "_Four_ dates?"

Derek's head whips towards me; he almost runs a red light.

"With who?" I ask, ignoring Derek's antics.

"Cody Davis, Josh Calloway, Joey McGrath, and Matt Kenney."

"Oh my God, Em!" I squeal.

Emily sighs, "So, right after school you're going out with Cody, Joey is picking you up at six, you're meeting Josh at seven-thirty, and then Matt is picking you up at nine. Will that work?"

I grin, "Definitely, thanks so much, Em! You're amazing."

Emily laughs, "Yeah, I know. See ya in a few." She says before hanging up.

I turn off my phone and smirk towards Derek as he carries on back to driving as the light turns to green.

"You have four dates tonight?" he asks cautiously.

I nod, "Uh huh. Looks like you're going to need _seven_ dates to beat me now."

Derek's body stiffens as he misses our exit towards the school.

_What the…?_

"Derek, you just missed our-"

"I know." Derek says in a know-it-all tone.

I eye him confusingly, "Then what the hell are we doing?"

Derek turns his head towards me, "_Casey_, _Casey_, _Casey_, are you telling me that you would rather be bored in school than out with your oh-so-amazing stepbrother?"

I scoff, "Uh, _yeah_." The words end up coming out more like a question than a statement.

Derek sighs, "Well…"

"What do you have in mind?" I ask turning to look at him.

The fact alone that Derek would rather hang out with me than be at school is completely beyond me, but I'm still curious…and kind of excited.

Derek sighs sarcastically, "What does it matter? You wanna go back to _school_."

"Shut up!" I exclaim, "What did you want to do?"

Derek turns his head towards me slightly, "I challenge you to a round of Babe Raider. Loser owes-"

I hold up my hand to stop him, "I don't think having two bets going on at the same time is such a good idea."

Derek holds up a finger to stop me, "Loser owes the winner whatever the winner chooses the loser to do."

I sigh and slump down in my seat, "Well, it doesn't make complete sense, but fine."

Derek smirks at me and pulls into our neighborhood.

I whip my head towards him, "I'm only doing this just so you understand that I can beat your ass at this game."

-**¤-**

"And Venturi prevails once again." I say with a triumphant smirk, tossing my controller on to the couch and smirking at Casey proudly.

Casey narrows her eyes at me and slumps against the couch, "So you won a round of Babe Raider, big deal."

I laugh, "Well, you remember our deal from earlier in the car, right?"

Casey glares at me, "Are you seriously following through with that?"

I nod, "Of course. Venturi men always keep their promises."

She guffaws at that, "Yeah right." She glances towards the digital clock on the cable box and drops her controller to the ground, "Derek, its 3:15."

I glance towards the clock and then back at Casey, "What? Can't believe you actually skipped _three _hours of school?" I ask sarcastically.

Casey jumps up from the couch, "No, you idiot! My date! I was supposed to meet Cody _right_ after school."

I feel like I just swallowed a bowling ball as those words drop from her perfect, pink lips. She has a date. She's leaving me because she has a date.

"You better get going then." I grumble. Oh my _God_, I'm seriously being a drama queen. Me! Why the hell am I so wound up about this?

Casey glances towards me curiously, "Derek…are you okay?"

I scoff and grab my leather jacket from where it is draped over the couch and stomp my way towards the door, "_Fucking_ fabulous."

-♥-

I had to call Emily up and have her tell Cody to just pick me up at my house.

But thanks to Derek's _lovely_ outburs_t_, it ruined my _entire_ date.

I couldn't think, I couldn't talk…I couldn't even remember my date's _name_.

"Sorry that I was such a spaz tonight." I say as Cody pulls his SUV into our driveway.

Cody shrugs, "It's alright, I could tell you had someone else on your mind."

My jaw drops, "You could?"

Cody nods, "You called me Derek three Joeyes, and then vented over Derek for forty-five minutes."

_Oh my GOD._ I am completely mortified.

"Cody, I am _so_ sorry." I babble.

Cody shakes his head, "It's alright." He says as I begin to climb out of the passenger seat. As I shut the door behind me, Cody rolls down the passenger side window, "Word to the wise, Casey…"

I turn to face him, "What?"

"You might want to tell Derek you're into him before he decides that you aren't."

As he pulls out of the driveway, I can only think of one thing.

Is he right?

Am I actually _interested_ in Derek?

Nah…I couldn't be.

Could I?

-**¤-**

I am lying on my bed playing my iPod on full blast when Casey stomps into my bedroom and slams the door shut behind her.

As I sit up, I glare at her, "Did you want something Case? Cody texted me, I know you guys went on a date. I'm not going down to meet him."

Casey shakes her head, "It isn't about that. Thanks to you, I had the _worst_ date of my life."

I eye her stupidly, "How the hell was I a contributor in _your_ crappy date?"

I get up from the bed and slowly make my way towards her until we are face to face.

Casey sucks in a deep breath and glares at me frustratingly, "Because! The whole Joeye I was on the date with Cody, all I could think about was-"

"Was what, Case?" I ask huskily, staring into her blue orbs.

Casey is practically out of breath, "Was…was…"

"Casey!"

The two of us jolt apart as Nora calls up the stairs to Casey.

"Joey is here!" Nora calls out.

Casey backs away from me, still glancing at me curiously, "Okay!" she calls out to her mom, her eyes still locked on mine.

"See you after your date, Case." I say lowly to her.

Casey has tears shimmering in her eyes for some unknown reason before she hurries out of my bedroom.

I make my way back to my bed and collapse down on it, staring at my ceiling.

I am in _way_ over my head.

I get interrupted just _moments_ later as there is a knock at my door.

Casey didn't go. She seriously didn't go on the date!

I get up almost excitedly and make my way towards my bedroom door, "Couldn't stay away?" I say as I open the door.

It isn't Casey.

It's Joey McGrath and he's _smiling_ at me.

"What do you want?" I grumble.

"Well, I know the date doesn't count unless I meet you, so I just wanted to meet you. Hey Derek, I'm Casey's date."

I nod sarcastically, "Hey Joey, I don't care." I state and slam the door in his face.

-♥-

"So, your brother isn't exactly the most chipper person in the world, is he?" Joey asks as the two of us sit down at a booth in Gentry's Pizza Parlor.

I shrug, still thinking back to the incident before in Derek's room, "What do you mean?"

Joey sighs, "I introduced myself to him and he said that he didn't care and slammed the door in my face."

I shrug towards him once again, "That's just Derek being Derek. Trust me, if you were around him long enough, you'd get used to it."

"He seemed pretty pissed that I was going out with you." Joey states.

My eyes shoot down towards my lap, trying not to look up at Joey as I begin to blush, "That's insane."

_Just as insane as those butterflies that were in your stomach when you were in Derek's bedroom._

"And you're blushing." Joey says, eyeing me curiously.

I look up at him, noticing that I'm blinking my eyes to prevent tears from leaking out of them.

"And crying…Casey, what's wrong?"

I shoot up from the table, "Everything."

"Do you want me to take you home?" Joey asks, standing up as well.

I nod, "I'm really sorry."

Joey shakes his head, "It's cool. I understand." He walks ahead of me, making his way out the door of the restaurant.

I tilt my head back and close my eyes, "Damn you, Derek."

-**¤-**

"Smerek, are you feeling okay?" Marti asks I sit with her in her bedroom, watching her color.

I smirk, "Of course, Smarti. Why do you ask?"

Marti shoots me a stupid look, "Cause you've been sitting in my room for a long time and all you've done is stare at my picture of me, Lizzie, and Casey." She says, pointing towards her picture of her and her stepsisters in a glittery pink frame, "Well, you weren't looking at me and Lizzie…mostly just Casey."

What the hell is happening to me?

"I'm sorry, Smarti. I guess I just got distracted." I say and slowly stand up from her floor and make my way towards her bedroom door, "Goodnight Smarti." I say and slowly open the door.

"Do you love her, Smerek?"

As soon as those words leave her mouth, my heart falls into my stomach and I gulp.  
I _can't _be in love with Casey. That's _impossible_.

My mouth apparently does _not_ think the same way, because when I turn to face Marti, the words that leave my mouth are, "Yeah, Smarti. I do."

-♥-

The first thing I do when I get home is go up to Derek's bedroom door and knock.

"What is it, Case?" Derek's voice causes me to jump.

I turn the side of me and see Derek standing beside me.

"I…uh…" I stammer.

Derek chuckles almost evilly, "At a loss for words yet again, Case?"

I gulp and back away from him, "No…"

Derek slowly makes his way towards me, "Then why is it that every time I ask you a question, you stutter?"

I feel a blush rising to my cheeks and I look towards the ground.

"Why do you always blush and turn away when I get close to you?" he says in a near whisper.

"Why are you doing this to me?" I ask in a whisper.

"Why are _you_ doing this to _me_?" he repeats the question right back at me.

My breath becomes shorter and quicker, almost as if I'm panting. I shoot my eyes towards the ground, not _daring_ to look up at him.

"How come I've been thinking about you nonstop _all_ day?" God, please make him stop. "How come the only thing I want for you to for your bargain of our bet from today is kiss me senseless?" Oh my God, _please_ make him stop. I won't be able to control myself…"How come-"

I cut him short as I crush my lips against his, kissing him hard.

His hands almost immediately grip my thighs before one hand removes itself, finding the doorknob and twisting it, the two of us practically falling into his room.

As soon as the door shuts behind us, Derek slams me against it roughly. I could almost have _bruises_ from this. But I really don't care. I just want to kiss him; all I want to do is kiss him.

His lips attack my neck and I manage a whimpered, "Derek…" before I wind up letting out a yelp and letting my hands slide down his back, my ankles locking together tightly from where they are wrapped around his waist.

His lips find their way back to my lips before he grabs me and makes his way towards a different part of his room.

His bed.

He lays me down and lays on top of me, never breaking the kiss.

As he fiddles with the hem of my shirt, I don't notice that somebody is calling us from downstairs.

As soon as we hear a tapping on the door next to Derek's, I push him off of me and jump up from his bed, wiping my lips and smoothing down my hair.

Derek eyes me as I try to make it look completely unobvious that anything was going on between Derek and I, "God, you are so _infuriating_!" I exclaim before stomping out of his room and slamming the door shut behind me as I am face to face with my mom.

"Hi Casey…there is a boy here for you." She says with a smile, "You sure are popular tonight."

I give her a weak smile before turning towards the stairs and making my way down them. I smile towards Josh as I see him standing by the front door in our foyer.

"Hi Casey." He says with a smile.

I smile back, "Hey Josh."

"Should I go upstairs and meet your brother?" he asks.

Geez, Emily must have filled all of my dates in on this whole thing before she let them accept the date.

I think back to how Derek is losing to me by seven people, it honestly doesn't seem fair.

I'm guessing that that's my reasoning for shaking my head at him and saying, "No, don't worry about it."

**-¤-**

All I can think about is Casey as I hear the front door shut behind them.

I rake my hands through my hair, "I have to get out of here." I declare and grab my cell phone, scanning for the first girl's number that I find and calling them.

It turns out that its Sam's sister, Shelby.

"Hey Derek…" she says coolly, she's a ninth grader, so it isn't _that_ big of an age gap.

"You doing anything tonight?" I ask quickly.

"No, why?"

-♥-

Derek isn't home when I get home from my last two dates of the night; the first one being with Josh and the second with Matt.

And, of course, all I could concentrate on was Derek.

I seriously hate him for that.

I hate the fact that I haven't been able to stop thinking of him all night, and it doesn't help much that we practically had sex only two hours before.

"Hi Casey!" Marti practically attacks me as I make my way towards my bedroom.

"Hey Marti." I say with a smile, turning to face my youngest step-sibling, "Shouldn't you be in bed?"

She sighs, "Not tired." She says before glancing up at me curiously, "Are you looking for Smerek?"

_Yes._

"Nope." I lie, "Just heading to bed."

"Oh." She says, glancing down at the floor before looking up at me, "He's on a date with Sammy's sister."

My shoulder's tense, "Oh?"

Marti nods, "I don't know why though. He already said he loves you."

_Wait…what?_

"Oh well, goodnight Casey!" Marti said with a smile before blowing me a kiss and skipping off towards her bedroom.

"Marti, wait." I call after her.

She stops and turns around.

"When did he say that?"

"Tonight, while you were on a date." She says simply before waving at me and making her way towards her room.

As soon as I enter my room and close the door behind me, I slide down it and sit on the floor, my back leaning against the door.

Is Marti serious?

Derek _loves _me?

No _way_.

-♥-

**Okay, so that sucked. LoL**

**Anyways, once again, I am so sorry for the long update…but thank you _a million_ for the reviews! You guys rock!**

**R&R and please, no flames!**

**Lotsa love, **

**degrassichick**


	15. Crazy Little Thing Called Love

**I'm horrible, I know! I am _so _sorry for how long it took me to update this story! So, so, sorry! **

**A lot contributed to my very slow update on this chapter:**

**1. Everything going on at home right now.**

**2. I got the first sentence of the chapter wrote and I got a writer's block.**

**3. I idiotically started a new story.**

**4. I just started school.**

**5. I got sidetracked _way_ too many times.**

**And now, it is the _fifth_ day of school and I'm already skipping. Because I was overly tired, and I didn't feel good. And then I felt so horrible for missing school that to clear my head, I decided to write this chapter.**

**So, now that I've babbled enough, here's Chapter 14.**

**Hope you like!**

**R&R and please, no flames.**

**Lotsa love,**

**Degrassichick**

**-x-**

**PS: If anybody noticed this sentence in the last chapter: **_Cody nods, "You called me Derek three **Joeyes**, and then vented over Derek for forty-five minutes."_** Yes, I did mean to say "times". His name was originally Tim and then I changed and forgot to change the word back to "time"…sorry! Thank you to 'daseyshipper' for pointing that out!**

**-¤-**

**Chapter 14**

**-¤-**

It's the last day of this whole bet, and neither Casey nor I have fifteen dates.

I still need eleven dates; _eleven_ dates by the end of today.

Yeah, that's _highly_ unlikely. Even for _me_.

Casey only needs 6.

I'm screwed, so screwed.

Just then, Casey comes hurrying down the stairs, combing a strand of hair behind her ear.

"Morning, Casey!" Marti squeals from where she sits on top of the island in our kitchen.

Casey gives her a weak smile, "Morning, Marti." She says before glancing over towards me, the faint smile on her face immediately wipes off and she goes to the fridge, grabbing a whipped yogurt and shutting the fridge behind her. She grabs a spoon and rips off the lid, hurrying out of the kitchen.

"What's the hurry, Casey?" Nora asks as she brushes past Casey in the living room.

"Date." Casey says just as the doorbell rings.

My face falls.

She has a _date_? At seven in the _morning_?

She makes her way to the door and swings it open.

I swivel around to see who it is.

Chase Rasmussen, captain of the soccer team.

"Hey Derek." He says coolly, making his way towards me, "Gotta meet you so it's official."

What, did she tell_ everybody_ about the bet?

My jaw clenches and I don't even bother to reply.

"_Okay_ then." Chase says, backing away, "C'mon Case. Thought we'd go grab some bagels."

"Don't call her Case." I snap.

All heads turn towards me.

My cheeks pale and I turn my back towards them.

I can feel Casey staring at me before she declares that she and Chase are leaving.

I hear the door shut shortly after.

I hate this.

-♥-

"So _then_ I tell them, 'Yellow Card! I only kicked my ball at his face out of self defense!'." Chase says enthusiastically as we sit at a table in Millbrook's.

I glance up at him with sarcastic enthusiasm, "Wow, _that's_ thrilling. Have you sold the movie rights yet?"

Chase gives me a puzzled expression, "I don't get it."

I roll my eyes, "Never mind." I glance down at the watch on my wrist, "Oh, it's seven forty-five. We have to go."

"But I haven't gotten to the playoffs yet!" Chase whines.

I roll my eyes, "Maybe some other time." I say, standing up from the table.

_Yeah right_.

Josh shrugs, "Oh well, I'll just tell you in the car." He says and gets up to pay for our breakfast.

_Joy_.

-

"I hated it. That date was so _boring_!" I groan towards Emily, slamming my head up against my locker.

Emily gives me a sympathetic look, "Sorry Case. But on the plus side, you're totally winning. You only need five more dates and you _win_."

I turn my head towards her, "What if I don't want to win anymore?"

_Oh my God, I can't believe those words just left my mouth._

Emily eyes me confusingly, "What do you mean?"

I stand up straight and lean in towards her, "Okay, you have time to hear a long story?"

Just then the bell rings, I have to go to Algebra…damn it!

Emily glances up at the bell and sees all of the kids scampering towards their classrooms.  
She latches onto my arm and hauls me into the washroom.

"Spill." She states, a smile on her face.

I sigh, I don't ditch class. That's just not what I do.

But, for once, I think that something is more important than Algebra.

Something named Derek.

I tell her the whole story, starting with what happened at lunch yesterday. I tell her about playing Babe Raider, and going out with Cody and Joey, and then I tell her about the kiss. Her jaw hits the floor but I carry on, telling her about Josh and Matt and then finally telling her about what Marti told me last night.

Emily is now sitting on the toilet seat, her face holding a shocked expression.

"Oh…my…God…" she says slowly, shaking her head in disbelief.

I run a hand through my hair, "I know. Horrible, right?"

Emily laughs, "_Horrible_? No. Try _incredible_!"

My eyes widen, "What?"

"Derek _loves_ you, Casey. That explains everything!"

"Explains what, exactly?" I ask, leaning against the wall.

Emily stands up, "Why he's been acting so weird and so jealous. Why _the_ great Derek Venturi has only managed to get _four_ dates while you have gotten _ten_. It just explains so much, Case. Derek _loves_ you."

"Yeah, well there's not much I can do about it." I say with a sigh.

Emily's face lights up and it's as if a light bulb just appeared over her head.

"I have an idea."

I eye her confusingly, "What is it?"

"Go on the rest of your dates, and-"

"_That's_ your plan?"

Emily holds up a hand to stop me, "Will you let me finish?" she leans in closer towards my ear, "Go on your next five dates, win the bet, and…"

-**¤-**

You know, if I wasn't as completely into Casey as I am, I would _really_ hate her right now.

She just came up to me and introduced me to her _second_ date of the day, Alan Jennings.

But her face held a really odd expression, the whole time Alan was 'introducing' himself to me, Casey's eyes stayed glued on me, her eyes running up and down my body and a blush rising up to her cheeks. When Alan asked her if she was ready to go, it took her nearly thirty seconds to respond. I practically had her in a trance.

Am I good or what?

"Why don't you just surrender?" Sam asks, coming up beside me as I watch Casey and Alan walk away.

I whip my head towards him, "Why would I do that?"

Sam chuckles, "Because there is _no_ way that you can win this bet now."

I scoff, "Have you that little faith in me?"

He rolls his eyes, "D, you have to get_ eleven_ dates and you only have until _five_ to get them. And it's already eleven. Do _you_ think you can do it?"

I don't respond.

"Besides, all you'll manage to do is ruin all the girls' hearts."

"Why would you say that?" I ask confusingly, turning to face him.

"Because we all know you like Casey."

My expression sinks, "_What_?"

Sam scoffs, "Don't play dumb, Derek. Everybody knows you're into her and if they don't, they're dense."

"I agree." A female voice states.

I turn around and am face to face with Emily.

"How would you know?" I ask confusingly.

Emily sighs, "Casey told me."

"Casey told you what?"

_Are they just _trying _to confuse me here?_

Emily sighs, "Apparently, you told Marti that you love Casey."

Sam's eyes widen and his jaw drops, "You _what_?"

_What the…?_

"How do you know that, Emily?"

Emily sighs, a smirk on her face, "Because _then_ Marti told Casey."

_Oh my God._

My head slams against my locker, "Marti _told _her?"

"_You_ told _Marti_?" Sam shoots back in the same tone.

Casey knows I love her.

Casey _knows_ I love her.

Adding on to my statement from earlier today:

I am _so_ screwed.

-♥-

I step into our house that afternoon.

I didn't win the bet.

I've only been on eleven dates; I still needed four more dates to win. But I couldn't do it.

You want to know why?

Because I called Alan 'Derek' _seven_ times.

I realize that I did the same thing last night to Cody, but this time, it really stuck out. It _really_ made me realize something.

I'm love Derek.

No wait, let me rephrase that, I'm _in_ love with Derek; completely, one hundred percent, head-over-hells in _love_ with Derek Venturi. I think I might always have, _even_ when I was dating Sam I still always thought of Derek and I never knew why; but now I do.

After the sixth 'Derek' of our date, Alan asked me if I was in the right place.

"Of course I am." I had responded, "Why do you ask?"

"Because I don't think you are." He had replied, combing a hand through his strawberry blonde hair.

"What do you mean by that?"

"I think you need to be with Derek." He responded.

My jaw dropped, "_What_?"

"It's obvious that you're into him, Casey."

I shake my head, "It _can't_ be obvious; it's not true."

Alan shot me a blank look; it had been obvious that he didn't believe me; "Do you love him?" he had asked.

I let out a laugh, "Do I _love_ him? No, of course not. He's my stepbrother." I cringed when the last part of that left my mouth.

"It's okay if you do, you know. Some people may think its wrong, but I think its okay. If you're happy, then that's all that matters."

"Really?"

Alan smiled, "Really."

And now, here I am; stepping into the living room preparing to end the bet with Derek.

Edwin turns to face me from where he is sitting on the couch, "So how's my winner doing?" he asks.

I shake my head, "I didn't win, Edwin."

Edwin's face pales, "_Derek_ won? He only had _four_ dates when he left this morning! Did he ditch school to make the other eleven?"

I shrug, "I don't know, Ed. All I know is that I only had eleven dates today."

Edwin points towards the door, "You still have _two_ hours, go out and find the other four!"

I roll my eyes, "I don't care about the bet anymore, Edwin."

"But I have to beat Lizzie!" he exclaims.

I eye him confusingly, sitting down next to him on the couch, "Why?" I ask, turning to face me.

Edwin sighs, "I don't know."

"Do you like her?"

Edwin's cheeks turn pink but he tries to cover it up with a scoff, "_What_? That's crazy talk, Casey. Of course I don't like Lizzie, she's my stepsister."

_Just like Derek's my stepbrother…_

I give him a knowing look and he sinks into the couch, "Yeah, I like her." He grumbles before suddenly shooting up and pointing a finger towards me, "But if you tell that to _anyone_, I will personally hunt you down."

I roll my eyes but laugh, "Why don't you just tell Lizzie?"

Edwin scoffs, "I can't just _tell_ Lizzie. If you can't tell Derek how _you_ feel and Derek can't tell you how _he_ feels, how do you expect me to tell Lizzie how _I _feel?"

I eye him confusingly, "What do you mean by me telling Derek and Derek telling me?" I ask, although I have a good feeling what he means by it.

Edwin's eyes widen, "Are you _that_ dense? Derek's into you."

I sigh, "What, did he just tell that to _everybody_ or something?"

Edwin shrugs, "He didn't tell me, it's just obvious."

I shake my head and sigh, "It'd be too difficult to tell him."

"How do you figure? He's into you and it's obvious you like him."

I turn to face him, "How did you become such an expert on dating?"

Edwin shrugs, "I'm not an expert, I just know."

Just then, the door swings open and Lizzie steps in, Edwin's face immediately lights up and I can't help but laugh at his expression.

"Hey Casey." Lizzie says with a smile before turning to Edwin, her face holding a puzzled expression, "What's with you?"

"Nothing…" Edwin stammers; his voice jumpy.

"_Okay_…" she says warily, "I'm going upstairs to finish up my homework."

"You're doing your homework on a _Friday_?" Edwin asks.

Lizzie nods before glancing up at Edwin with a small smile, "Do you want to help me? You're better at science than I am."

Edwin jumps up from the couch, "Sure!" he says in a just a bit _too_ ecstatic tone, "I mean, uh, sure."

Lizzie laughs before jerking her head up towards the stairs, "Let's go." She says before jogging up the stairs.

Edwin turns to face me, mouthing 'thank you' before following her up the stairs."

I watch them leave before I lean into the couch and laugh.

The front door opens again and Derek steps in, glancing towards me, "Do you just want to finish this bet right now? You already know you won."

I eye him confusingly, "You have that little of faith in yourself?"

"You know you beat me, Casey." Derek says, his face holding a blank expression.

I shrug, "Not exactly…"

-**¤-**

I can't help but stare at Casey as soon as I walk through the front door.

"Not exactly…" Casey says with a shrug.

"What do you mean by that?" I ask confusingly, shrugging my book bag off of my shoulder and making my way into the living room.

Casey sighs, "I only got eleven dates."

I shrug, "So? You still beat me because you got _more_ dates than I did."

Casey laughs, shaking her head in surprise, "Who would have thought that I would beat you in _dating_?"

I narrow my eyes at her, "Don't get cocky with me."

Casey laughs. God, I love her laugh.

"So, I get to pick your date then…" she says nervously.

I nod, "Yeah. When's my _date_?" I ask in the same tone.

Casey sits up straighter; a look of confidence is spread across her beautiful face, "Tonight."

My eyes widen, "_Tonight_?"

-**¤-**

**Shorter chapter, I know. But I'm starting on the next chapter right now because I _finally_ know how I'm ending it, LoL.**

**Yeah, the next chapter will be the final chapter.**

**Anyways, thank you_ so _much for the reviews! Sorry it took me so long to update, I'm _so _sorry!**

**Anyways, R&R and please, no flames!**

**Lotsa love,**

**degrassichick**


	16. I'll Keep You My Dirty Little Secret

**Well, this is it; the final chapter of Out of the Blue.**

**I'm sick right now and I decided that I finally needed to update this, so here it be!**

**I just wanted to thank all of my reviewers, you guys are amazing and very inspiring…thank you _so, so _much!**

**Without further ado, here is the (short-sorry that it's SO short!) Chapter 15.**

**R&R and please, no flames!**

**Lotsa love,**

**Degrassichick**

**-**

**PS: Sorry if it's cheesy. I really suck at writing conclusions!**

**-**♥**-**

**Chapter 15**

**-**♥-

"Em, I can't go through with this." I proclaim into my cell phone a little over two hours after my conversation with Derek over his "mystery date" tonight.

Emily scoffs on the other end, "Case, you can too and you know it. Did you tell Derek where to meet his date tonight?"

"On the couch." I state in a matter-of-fact tone.

"At what time?" Emily asks.

"Seven."

"And his date will arrive wearing-"

"Em!" I cut her off, "I didn't really find the need to get _that_ technical with him. I just told him that his date would be there at seven o'clock and to meet her on the couch because they were going to watch a movie."

Emily laughs, "Well, it's six forty-five right now. So in fifteen minutes Derek will meet his date for this evening. And he's gonna be _so_ in love."

I laugh, "Alright Em, I'll call you later on tonight to tell you how it all ends up."

"K, see ya." Emily chirps and clicks off her phone.

I sigh and toss my cell to the bed before glancing at my mirror and pulling my dark hair out from it's ponytail, letting it cascade down my shoulders.

"What are you all dressed up for?" a voice asks, making me jolt.

I spin around and see Derek leaning against my doorframe.

And _oh my God_ does he look good.

He's wearing a simple button down shirt and a pair of khakis with his leather jacket on over the shirt, it looks completely normal, but for some reason it's making my stomach fill with butterflies.

I gulp.

"Case?" he asks, glancing my outfit up and down.

I'm wearing a gray camisole with a shrunken denim jacket over it with a light blue jean fringed skirt that falls to my thighs and a simple pair of black flip flops, "I…I have a date tonight."

Derek's face pales, "You have a date?"

I nod, "Uh huh. I'm supposed to meet him at seven, so I have to go." I state awkwardly, grabbing my black clutch from where it is sitting on my bed, "So, I'll see you later on. Good luck on your date." I say and brush past him on my way out the door.

I suddenly pause to turn and look at him, "And Derek? Be a gentlemen, open the door for her, okay?"

Derek looks almost offended, "When am I _not_ a gentlemen?"

I scoff, "All the time?"

He rolls his eyes.

"Anyways, just letting you know. See ya." I say before turning and walking off down the stairs. I can feel Derek's eyes following my body with each step that I take.

I let out a sigh as I hit the foyer before I turn to glance at him once more.

He looks heartbroken.

_Man_, he took that whole "I-have-a-date-tonight" thing pretty harsh.

I suck in a deep breath before turning back to face the door and opening it up, stepping outside and closing it behind me.

-**¤-**

Casey has a date tonight.

She's hooking me up with some girl that I know I will show _zero_ interest in, and she's going on a date.

Life is cruel. Cruel, cruel, cruel.

I hear giggling coming from Lizzie's room.

I don't even think I want to know what they have been doing. She and Edwin have been locked up in her room for over two hours now.

"I want a pink one!" I hear Marti exclaim.

I glance downstairs and see Marti, Dad, and Nora all slipping on their coats.

"Marti, you don't have a pink coat." Dad tries to reason with her.

"But I want one!" she squeals.

I chuckle and make my way down the stairs.

Nora glances up at me and smiles, "Well, don't we look handsome?"

I smirk, "Date."

"Of course." Dad says and laughs, "We're taking Marti to a friend's house and then Nora and I are going out for dinner. So will you be alright manning the fort by yourself tonight?"

I scoff, "Of course."

He smiles at me before placing a hand on the small of Nora's back, guiding her and Marti-who is holding Nora's hand-out the door.

"Bye Smerek!" Marti exclaims, waving at me before the door shuts behind me.

I sigh and glance at the clock, _6:55_.

Oh man.

-♥-

I glance down at the silver watch on my wrist, _6:55_.

I can't do this.

I am standing against the side of our house, I watch as George, Nora, and Marti pull out of the driveway.

Oh man, I can't do this.

**-¤-**

The doorbell rings at exactly seven o'clock.

I sigh and get up from the couch, sucking in a deep breath before making my way towards the door.

I grip the handle and pull it open. But when I see who is standing on the porch, my jaw drops.

"Surprise." Casey says, a grin spreading across her face.

"What the…" I say, glancing at her in shock, "What are you doing here?"

Casey eyes me confusingly, "Aren't you going to let me in? Be a gentleman, Derek."

"You're my date." I clarify.

Casey blushes, "Seems that way."

"But, _why_?"

_Not that I'm complaining, I am _definitely_ not complaining._

Casey steps past me before sighing and turning to face me, "Well, you see, two years ago, my mom got married to this one guy. And he had this son who was around my age and I used to be so infuriated by him. But this past week, I've shared some of the most mind-blowing moments in my life with him and I just haven't been able to get him out of my head." Casey says, shaking her head in surprise.

_Oh my God._

I run a hand through my hair, "Funny story Casey. It's almost just like you, only with my stepmother's daughter."

Casey smiles, "So…what are you going to do about it?" she asks, twirling her fingers around one another.

I smirk before circling my arms around her waist and pulling her towards me, our lips pressing together in a passionate kiss. It isn't as rushed as the others have been, this one is more tender, more romantic, more…amazing than any kiss I've ever experienced in my entire life.

And thank God it's with Casey.

-♥-

The cat's out of the bag.

Derek knows I love him.  
And if he still doesn't, he's incredibly dense.

"So where do we go from here?" Derek asks as the two of us break away from the kiss.

I sigh, "There's always the movies…" I say with a laugh.

"What about my dad and your mom?" he asks.

I bite my lip before glancing up at him with a smile on my face, "If they find out, they find out. If they don't, they don't. Right now Derek, I could honestly care less."

Derek's eyes widen, "Well that's a surprise."

I laugh and smack his arm, "Shut up."

"I could care less too, Case." Derek says before pressing his lips up against mine again. And again. And again. And again.

I giggle and cling to him tightly, "I love you Derek." I whisper.

Derek's face tenses, "Are you serious?"

I break away and nod, "And don't you dare tell me otherwise about your feelings towards me, Derek Venturi. I have your little sister as evidence of what you've said about me."

Derek laughs, "Whoever said I was going to tell you different?"

I grin before pressing my lips against his and hugging him tightly, "So what are we going to do?"

"We can keep it a secret for now, and when the timing is right. We'll just let everybody know."

I nod, "Sounds like a plan to me."

Derek smirks, "Then a plan it is."

"Edwin, let's just thank God that both Derek and Casey are on dates tonight and George, Mom, and Marti aren't home, because if people find out about this then-" Lizzie stops abruptly when she spots Derek and I together in the foyer.

"Uh…" Edwin says awkwardly, releasing his hand that is laced around Lizzie's from Lizzie's and letting it drop to his side.

Derek laughs, "Nice, Ed." He says, lacing his arm around my waist.

Lizzie eyes us questioningly, a pleading expression on her face, "Can you guys keep a secret?"

I glance at Derek and grin before turning back towards my sister, "Can you?"

-♥-

**Well, that's the end of it.**

**I know this chapter is a lot shorter than the rest of the chapters…so kind of think of it as a…conclusion/epilogue. LoL.  
Anyways, thank you SO MUCH for all of your reviews! You guys are _amazing_ and were very supportive when I hit my really bad rough patch this summer, so thank you, thank you, thank you!**

**I'll have a new chapter of Life without Derek up soon.**

**In the meantime, R&R and please, no flames!**

**Lotsa love, degrassichick**


	17. Attention OOTB Readers!

**To all Out of the Blue readers!**

**HEY!**

**First off, thanks SO much for all the comments! You have no idea how much each one of them means to me!! I also would like to apologize for my updates (or lack there of) on Life without Derek. I'm so sorry! I promise to try and have a chapter up soon!**

**Thank you for all the requests for a sequel. I have been considering, but I'm still not sure.**

**And lastly, onto my biggest news…**

**About a week ago, I was contacted by the producer of the Life with Derek podcasts that air on Family's website and on iTunes. Apparently, they are doing an episode on fan fictions, and they want to use Out of the Blue for it! Michael Seater and Ashley Leggat have both read the story and said that they both like it a lot. I'm so excited! The podcast is to air in May or June…be sure to check it out!**

**Once again, thank you so much for all your reviews!**

**Peace-&-Loveee**

**-degrassichick :)**


	18. UPDATE and NEWS!

**Hey everyone! **

**First of all, thanks again for all the amazing reviews on this story. You guys ROCK.**

**Second, a bit of news on the podcast: Last week I got a letter in the mail from Toronto and included in it was an autographed picture signed by the whole cast of Life with Derek (I spazzed out. lmao) and a letter saying that the podcast was still being cut. It is to air in September and I will be sure to keep you all updated on what's going on.**

**And last, I have decided to write a sequel for Out of the Blue. The story will take place in the future and is entitled Think Twice. I already have the first chapter complete, and I will post it after I am halfway through with the second chapter. So expect it to be up by Tuesday at the very latest.**

**Thanks so much for everything you guys, you're amazing!!**

**Peace, Love, and Cheerios :) **

**-degrassichick**


End file.
